Dissatisfied With: Standard Pattern
Dissatisfied With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “dissatisfied with” when saying that someone is not pleased with a person, thing, service, or situation.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| a person is not pleased with a service, result, person, or situation | dissatisfied with + noun / noun phrase | Use “with” before the object of dissatisfaction. |
| the adjective stands without an expressed complement | dissatisfied | No complement is required when the context already supplies what is unsatisfactory. |
| a different adjective or verb is doing the grammatical work | use the construction required by that word | Do not transfer the “with” pattern mechanically to unrelated words. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you explicitly naming the thing or situation that someone is not pleased with?
If yes: Use “dissatisfied with …”.
If no: If the object is understood from context, “dissatisfied” can stand alone; otherwise choose the construction required by the actual word.
Caveat: Choose by the documented meaning or construction; a different pattern may be valid in a different sentence structure, region, or register.
Examples
Customers were dissatisfied with the delayed response.
“With” introduces the service outcome causing dissatisfaction.
She is dissatisfied with the final draft.
The object of dissatisfaction follows “with.”
Several respondents remained dissatisfied.
The adjective can stand without an explicit complement when the context is clear.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “dissatisfied with” when saying that someone is not pleased with a person, thing, service, or situation.
Style Boundary
This page records the directly documented “with” complement and does not imply that every use of “dissatisfied” requires an explicit complement.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- DISSATISFIED | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the construction “dissatisfied with” someone or something.