adequate

adjective

ad·​e·​quate ˈa-di-kwət 

1

: 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.

2

: lawfully and reasonably sufficient

adequate grounds for a lawsuit

adequateness noun

Synonyms of adequate

• decent
• satisfactory
• good
• fine
• acceptable

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

Examples of adequate in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

The financial complexity has increased, and adequate preparation needs to increase with it. — Adam Frank, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2026

Can the city budget really not pay for an adequate fire department? — Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2026

Advertisement Semel says most states do not provide adequate counsel or resources to people facing the death penalty. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 6 Nov. 2026

Other skeptics raise as yet unanswered questions about whether the project’s complex financing plan has been properly vetted and whether new state laws clearing the way for Midway Rising will make adequate reviews of environmental risks unlikely. — U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026

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

Rhymes for adequate

• inadequate

Kids Definition

adequate

adjective

ad·​e·​quate ˈad-i-kwət 

1

: suitable or enough for a requirement

food and water adequate for six people

2

: good enough

your grades are barely adequate

adequately adverb

adequateness noun

Legal Definition

adequate

adjective

ad·​e·​quate

: lawfully and reasonably sufficient

adequate grounds for a lawsuit