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Definition of enoughnext
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enough

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adjective

enough

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective enough contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of enough are adequate, competent, and sufficient. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

When would adequate be a good substitute for enough?

Although the words adequate and enough have much in common, adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

When is it sensible to use competent instead of enough?

The words competent and enough can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is sufficient a more appropriate choice than enough?

The synonyms sufficient and enough are sometimes interchangeable, but sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

How does the adjective enough contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of enough are adequate, competent, and sufficient. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

When would adequate be a good substitute for enough?

Although the words adequate and enough have much in common, adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

When is it sensible to use competent instead of enough?

The words competent and enough can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is sufficient a more appropriate choice than enough?

The synonyms sufficient and enough are sometimes interchangeable, but sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

How does the adjective enough contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of enough are adequate, competent, and sufficient. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

When would adequate be a good substitute for enough?

Although the words adequate and enough have much in common, adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

When is it sensible to use competent instead of enough?

The words competent and enough can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is sufficient a more appropriate choice than enough?

The synonyms sufficient and enough are sometimes interchangeable, but sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of enough
Adverb
For entertaining, consider this set with a sofa, two chairs, and a coffee table large enough for serving small dishes and drinks. Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2026 Your regular-season effort isn’t going to be good enough in the conference tournament. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
At the suspect’s residence, investigators found enough contraband Lego pieces to fill two garbage bags. Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026 However, when applied as a top dressing to existing peony beds, compost is usually not enough to fix any phosphorus or potassium deficiencies. Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
Piech’s recollection of Sora generations were arriving with enough of those qualities to blur the distinction. Tim Requarth, Longreads, 9 Apr. 2026 Smith signed his first 10-day on March 14 and added a second on March 25 before doing enough to earn a standard deal and a longer stay in Brooklyn. C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough
Adverb
  • This suggested the possibility of heating foods sufficiently to kill germs without significantly altering their chemical composition.
    Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • When the San Francisco Chronicle published its investigation, Swalwell’s campaign collapsed within 48 hours, indicating that the evidence was sufficiently substantial to immediately persuade political allies, campaign chairs, and fellow Democrats to withdraw their support.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • But neutral, white-box viewing spaces (with even, predictable lighting) can be found elsewhere on LACMA’s campus and pretty much anywhere art is shown.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
  • My year is pretty padded out with a bunch of appearances and shows and tours.
    McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • Nothing says summer quite like picking the ripe homegrown tomato straight from your garden.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Apr. 2026
  • After days of whirlwind weather, Chicagoans can expect to see conditions mellow out this week — but April showers aren’t over quite yet.
    Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The plant, located in Hartsville, South Carolina, generates 759 megawatts of electricity, which is a capacity sufficient to power approximately 570,000 homes.
    Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
  • The Meta-Amazon deal announced on Friday is the latest Big Tech tie-up as the industry scrambles to secure sufficient processors to power new and future AI models.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • To issue an Amber Alert, law enforcement must determine that specific statutory conditions are met, including the age of the child, law enforcement’s belief in imminent danger of serious injury or death, and the sufficiency of existing information to assist in recovery.
    Itay Ravid, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The sufficiency of disapproval to derail Trump’s primary immigration enforcement serves as further damning evidence against the companies and entities that so easily and so quickly capitulated to Trump last year.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Adverb
  • But few states even try to adequately estimate the gap, according to Goodman.
    Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators also found the company did not adequately train its employees to recognize fall hazards and did not use a hazard communication program for employees using hazardous chemicals, the news release said.
    Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • Some muskie anglers are speaking out strongly against FFS because those treasured and relatively rare fish are being caught at rates unheard of until the advent of this new technology.
    Mike McFeely, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Depending on the results of NASA’s toilet investigation, future changes to the design could include adding a heater or adjusting the flow of air or water in the venting lines—relatively minor tweaks in the grand scheme of things.
    Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026
Adverb
  • The Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, allowed two goals in the first period and never fully recovered in a 5-1 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday, as San Jose was swept in the best-of-three first-round series two games to none at Lee’s Family Forum.
    Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Amodei cited the concern that Anthropic technology would be used for fully autonomous lethal weapons whose decisions were made without human involvement — and the potential for AI to be used for mass domestic surveillance on an unprecedented scale.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

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