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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

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
The Emperor of All Maladies is expansive enough to offer something worthwhile to survivors, the bereaved, and newcomers alike. The Atlantic, 15 May 2025 Strangely enough, United has hope this season despite their dreadful place in the EPL table — the Europa League final against Tottenham next Wednesday could deliver a Champions League slot next year. Chris Branch, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Adjective
That alone should be enough for inclusion in a museum that was created to celebrate baseball. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025 Will their championship pedigree and desperation be enough for Jaylen Brown and Co. to force Game 6? Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for enough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough
Adverb
  • Speaking of controls, Forgotten Land feels pretty solid, though not nearly as fluid as Odyssey.
    Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025
  • Bradley is pretty happy that his love of pitching won out, especially since Scheider is ranked as the No. 67 senior in the state according to Prep Baseball Report.
    Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025
Adverb
  • Montverde won the final event, the 4×400 relay, in 3 minutes 45.5 seconds but that wasn’t quite enough.
    Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025
  • Almost, but not quite spontaneously, Adam and Teddy take off in Teddy’s truck, heading north, maybe to the arctic, maybe to just get out of town for a bit.
    John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025
Adjective
  • With sufficient photons, the cavity can act as an oscillator, with photons sloshing back and forth and creating interference patterns.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2025
  • While these kinds meetings are long and any clips can be taken out of context, there isn't sufficient evidence to support the claim that the footage showing Trump was changed by AI.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • At the same time, in keeping with the principle of reasonable sufficiency, Moscow will likely delegate most ground warfare to its allies.
    Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2015
  • Suppose scientific advances in the USSR had not just put a satellite into orbit, but found means of calculating an economy of sufficiency, even mild luxury, priced without profit, and equitably distributed.
    Mark Greif, Harper's Magazine, 26 July 2024
Adverb
  • None of this adequately addresses the complex economic, sociological, political and personal reasons why women in America, and in most other prosperous countries, are having fewer children.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025
  • School meal funding at the district-level similarly fails to adequately serve all communities in need.
    Grace Chung, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2025
Adverb
  • Some homes and businesses bounced back relatively quickly, while others languished in complicated situations with insurance companies and a drought of cash flow.
    Gwen Rockwood, Arkansas Online, 15 May 2025
  • The momentum is especially fast-paced, almost overly so, at the beginning, but the film settles over time into the relatively pleasant feel of a runaway train.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 15 May 2025
Adverb
  • If those conversations do happen, Dr. Brady stresses the importance of listening fully and without judgment.
    Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • On the more challenging side, as in many other European countries, production budgets are rising, theatrical audience numbers have not fully returned to pre-COVID levels and the most significant drop is among kids and youth.
    Annika Pham, Variety, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • Because there is no remedy for migrants who have already been deported, the ACLU lawyers asked the Supreme Court to provide guidance to lower courts about what measures are required for adequate notice to contest deportations.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 17 May 2025
  • Employees did not have adequate knowledge of manual ware-washing procedures as well as proper cooling, holding and sanitizer concentration.
    Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 16 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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