Definition of SUFFICIENT

Choose the Right Synonym for sufficient

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 sufficient in a Sentence

Considering that John Adams was notoriously insecure about his own place in history, he surely would have enjoyed his current renown. He and Abigail get pride of place in the family crypt, down a winding staircase in the church basement. On her plaque in the crypt, she is described as a "model of domestic worth," as though she were a particularly charming chifforobe, and not a woman who survived a troubled marriage with sufficient courage that both houses of Congress adjourned upon hearing of her death. —Charles P. Pierce, Boston Globe Magazine, 26 July 2009 Because canines are, for the most part, unable to naturally manufacture sufficient vitamins to meet their daily requirements, a dog's routinely consumed meals, with some exceptions, must be augmented with them during the manufacturing process. —Tom Ewing, Dog Watch, February 2009 And since this policy is usually accompanied by a pledge to provide sufficient scholarship funds to admitted applicants who cannot afford the full cost (around $45,000 in the Ivy League today), it is an expensive policy. —Andrew Delbanco, New York Review of Books, 29 Mar. 2007 The result was a magnificent example of evidence overkill—the first set of prints alone was sufficient to match the gangbanger to a set in the national Automated Fingerprint Identification System database. —Jessica Snyder Sachs, Popular Science, March 2004 A brisk walk is sufficient to raise your heart rate. There must be sufficient funds in your bank account to cover the check. Her explanation was not sufficient to satisfy the police.

Recent Examples on the Web

Well With Diabetes' will discuss learning to understand, manage and become more self-sufficient with your life with diabetes. — Courant Community, "Community News For The Colchester Edition," 10 July 2018 The Dare To Return initiative is a collaborative effort to empower a new generation of self-sufficient farmers in Thailand, at a time when rural populations are aging. — Prisana Kongwong, The Christian Science Monitor, "Why young professionals are taking up farming in Thailand," 2 July 2018 After hearing testimony at Monday's preliminary hearing, District Judge Timothy McCarthy ruled that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. — Tony Rizzo, kansascity, "Trial ordered in 2016 rape and murder of Overland Park woman," 25 June 2018 Lehmann entered an Alford plea, which allows defendants to maintain their innocence while acknowledging prosecutors may have sufficient evidence for a jury to convict. — Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "Former Louisville pastor avoids jail time in sex abuse plea deal," 19 June 2018 However, the rule had to be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and that regulatory body found that there wasn't sufficient evidence to approve Perry's rule. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "President Trump orders Energy Department to stop coal retirements [updated]," 1 June 2018 The auditor's office found that a lack of identifiable witnesses or sufficient evidence were major barriers for prosecutors. — Alexei Koseff, sacbee, "More hate crimes in California than police identified, state audit finds," 31 May 2018 Galvan was a suspect at the time but there wasn't sufficient evidence to charge him. — Crimesider Staff, CBS News, "DNA leads to arrest in newlywed's 1979 cold case murder," 28 May 2018 The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries reviewed Harrington's complaint earlier this year and dismissed it for lack of sufficient evidence, Felton noted. — Maxine Bernstein, OregonLive.com, "Former George Fox women's lacrosse coach sues university, claiming sexual discrimination," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sufficient.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.