adequate

adjective

ad·e·quate ˈa-di-kwət

Synonyms of adequate next

: sufficient for a specific need or requirement

adequate time

an amount of money adequate to supply their needs

also : good enough : of a quality that is good or acceptable

a machine that does an adequate job

: of a quality that is acceptable but not better than acceptable

Her first performance was merely adequate.

: lawfully and reasonably sufficient

adequate grounds for a lawsuit

adequateness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for adequate

sufficient, enough, adequate, competent mean being what is necessary or desirable.

sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

competent suggests measuring up to all requirements without question or being adequately adapted to an end.

had no competent notion of what was going on

Example Sentences

Then, during the spring and summer, allow adequate recovery by taking one or two days off the bike each week and scaling back the intensity of your rides one week out of every month. —

Selene Yeager, Bicycling, January/February 2008

… they are adequate for almost any computing need. —

Michael Meyer, Newsweek, 26 Oct. 1998

… the government would have to bail out any bidder with less adequate resources … —

The Economist, 30 Aug.-5 Sept. 1986

The garden hasn't been getting adequate water. The food was more than adequate for the six of us. The school lunch should be adequate to meet the nutritional needs of growing children. The machine does an adequate job. The tent should provide adequate protection from the elements. The quality of his work was perfectly adequate. Your grades are adequate but I think you can do better. The quality of his work was only adequate. See More

Recent Examples on the Web The turbo gives adequate power with no detectable lag, and the four-by-four option is nice to have in all sorts of situations. —

Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 7 May 2023 With Stefansson onboard, the ship steamed north from Nome lacking adequate arctic gear, with many other critical supplies on the other two vessels. —

David James, Anchorage Daily News, 6 May 2023 However, if the employer is not offering adequate break time, there is no requirement to notify the employer and a worker could file a lawsuit at any time. —

Chabeli Carrazana, USA TODAY, 4 May 2023 Similarly, leave enough downtime for adequate rest in addition to your more active endeavors. —

Neil Khaund, Forbes, 4 May 2023 The lawsuit was filed in state district court in Helena on behalf of Zephyr, a transgender Democrat who represents a liberal district in the college town of Missoula, and several constituents who the attorneys said were being denied their right to adequate representation. —

Amy Beth Hanson And Matthew Brown, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023 The unit where the workers died did not have adequate ventilation or air monitoring to ensure employee safety, and procedures weren’t followed that would have restricted worker access into areas where ventilation fans weren’t working, according to the chemical safety board. —

Juan Lozano, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2023 The unit where the workers died didn't have adequate ventilation or air monitoring to ensure employee safety, and procedures weren't followed that would have restricted worker access into areas where ventilation fans weren't working, according to the chemical safety board. —

CBS News, 25 Apr. 2023 The challenge is to ensure such projects are commercially feasible, that there is adequate demand from industries for the hydrogen. —

Elaine Kurtenbach, ajc, 15 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adequate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin adaequātus, past participle of adaequāre "to equalize, put on an equal footing," from ad- ad- + aequāre "to make level, equalize" — more at equate

First Known Use

circa 1617, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of adequate was circa 1617

See more words from the same year