Satisfice

Quick meaning: Satisfice is a verb meaning (sociology, intransitive) Of human behavior: to make a choice that suffices to fulfill the minimum requirements to achieve an objective, without special regard for utility maximization or optimization of one's preferences.

Meaning

(sociology, intransitive) Of human behavior: to make a choice that suffices to fulfill the minimum requirements to achieve an objective, without special regard for utility maximization or optimization of one's preferences.

More Meanings

1. (obsolete, transitive) To satisfy.

Example Sentences

Evidently, organisms adapt well enough to ‘satisfice’; they do not, in general, ‘optimize’.

[T]here are two contrasting types of decision-making mentalities, maximizing and satisficing. If you're choosing a marriage partner, you probably want to maximize. You want to find the very best person you are totally in love with. […] But politics is not like that. Politics is a prosaic activity most of the time. You probably want to satisfice, pick the person who's good enough, who seems reasonably responsible.

Word Forms

• satisfices
• satisficing
• satisficed

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include satisfie, suffice, satiate, satis, satisfy, good.

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