unsatisfactory
/ˌʌnsætɪsˈfækt(ə)ɹi/adjective
unsatisfactory is spelled U-N-S-A-T-I-S-F-A-C-T-O-R-Y: 14 letters and 6 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unsatisfactory means “Inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unsatisfactory?
| Letters | 14: U-N-S-A-T-I-S-F-A-C-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 6 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unsatisfactory?
Unsatisfactory appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unsatisfactory?
- /ˌʌnsætɪsˈfækt(ə)ɹi/
Unsatisfactory has 6 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-unsatisfactory.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unsatisfactory
- more unsatisfactory comparative
- most unsatisfactory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unsatisfactory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unsatisfactory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | insatisfaisant |
| Portuguese | insatisfatório |
| Spanish | insatisfactorio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unsatisfactory come from?
From un- + satisfactory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).