sufficient

adjective

suf·fi·cient | \ sə-ˈfi-shənt

Definition of sufficient

1a : enough to meet the needs of a situation or a proposed end sufficient provisions for a month

b : being a sufficient condition

2 archaic : qualified, competent

Other Words from sufficient Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about sufficient

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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

Instead, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office requested that the case be dismissed because there was not sufficient evidence to move forward. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Capital murder charge dismissed in deadly north Birmingham robbery, shooting," 16 Sep. 2019 The parents signed statements to that effect, and a judge in July 2018 allowed the seizure order to expire, citing lack of sufficient evidence to extend it. — John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, "How California’s ‘red flag’ law thwarted gun threats at Sunnyvale Ford, Netflix, and Palo Alto City Hall," 15 Sep. 2019 Portland’s Independent Police Review, a city auditing division that handles investigations of high-ranking police administrators, didn’t find sufficient evidence to prove allegations against Lt. — oregonlive, "Cop cleared in controversy over his friendly texts with Patriot Prayer’s Joey Gibson before, during protests," 12 Sep. 2019 City Law Director William Ondrey Gruber said there is sufficient evidence to oppose the liquor permit renewal, and once the the objection is filed, city officials can sit down with Swerve ownership and further discuss the situation. — Thomas Jewell, cleveland.com, "Shaker Heights ponies up for Clean & Safe program, busway in Van Aken District," 2 Sep. 2019 There is sufficient evidence in that case to say yes, this was a political attack. — Nr Staff, National Review, "The Editors Podcast: More Mass Shootings Shake the Nation," 9 Aug. 2019 Nor could Pakistan produce a sufficient number of officers necessary for a large army. — Raghvendra Singh, Quartz India, "What Britain gained by partitioning the subcontinent into India and Pakistan," 9 Aug. 2019 Under the law in New York and many other states, discovery of a condom in a purse is sufficient evidence to arrest a trans woman on prostitution charges. — Katelyn Burns, Vox, "The intersectional complexities of violence against black trans women," 26 July 2019 Goodell, however, reached the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to find Elliott at fault. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "How Will Roger Goodell Handle Tyreek Hill Situation as NFL Nears Decision?," 15 July 2019

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.

History and Etymology for sufficient

Middle English sufficiant, sufficient, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French suffisant, sufficient, in part from present participle of suffire "to suffice," in part borrowed from Latin sufficient-, sufficiens, from present participle of sufficere "to have enough strength or capacity, be adequate" — more at suffice

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