sufficiency

noun

suf·​fi·​cien·​cy sə-ˈfi-shən(t)-sē 

plural sufficiencies

1

: sufficient means to meet one's needs : competency

also : a modest but adequate scale of living

2

: the quality or state of being sufficient : adequacy

Synonyms

• acceptability
• adequacy
• goodness

Examples of sufficiency in a Sentence

the sufficiency of the portions is such that you will leave the restaurant with a full stomach but without doggie bags

Recent Examples on the Web

To determine the sufficiency of the evidence, the appellate judges identified the reasonable inferences that could be drawn from the circumstances proved. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 19 Aug. 2025

Tsangari doles out information cagily, turning over narrative cards with calculated delay, a bare sufficiency that undercuts her world-building in favor of point-making; the just-enough story is also a just-so story. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025

These need to be filed before the Patent Office to be assessed for both technical and legal sufficiency. —Wen Xie, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Taurus offers a peace rooted in gratitude, sufficiency, and care. —Colin Bedell, Them., 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

earlier sufficience in same sense (going back to Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Late Latin sufficientia, from Latin sufficient-, sufficiens sufficient + -ia -ia entry 1) + -ency

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sufficiency

• self-sufficiency

Rhymes for sufficiency

• deficiency
• efficiency
• proficiency
• immunodeficiency
• inefficiency
• insufficiency

Kids Definition

sufficiency

noun

suf·​fi·​cien·​cy sə-ˈfish-ən-sē 

plural sufficiencies

1

: sufficient means to meet one's needs

2

: the quality or state of being sufficient : adequacy

Legal Definition

sufficiency

noun

suf·​fi·​cien·​cy

: the quality or state of being sufficient

the sufficiency of the evidence to convict