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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

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 precedent for what happens when that capital moves quickly is March 2020, when a rapid unwind of leveraged positions contributed to a breakdown of Treasury-market liquidity severe enough to require Federal Reserve intervention. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 As a runner and dairy enthusiast myself, I was intrigued but skeptical — surely the jostling of your body wasn’t enough to actually churn butter. Matt Clough, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2026
Adjective
Havenith recommends garments with enough room for ventilation, especially in hot outdoor conditions. Aya Diab, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The Cozy is a great room option for solo travelers or a couple looking for a lower price point (there’s still a large bathroom and walk-in closet), while The Garden Suites have enough space to settle in, bring a friend, and stay a while. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026
Noun
What’s more, many schools aren’t doing enough to support students’ well-being. Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026 Supporters have noted how transformative the referendum will be for the region, but opponents questioned if the plan does enough for transit-dependent communities and to avoid displacement. Dj Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for enough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough
Adverb
  • Kannan’s ability to manage so many characters while developing them all sufficiently to feel vivid and real … The ending has lingered in my mind long after the final page.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The government led by President Delcy Rodriguez has so far failed to pass new laws that sufficiently safeguard private property rights, progress essential to attracting heavy overseas investment.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Adverb
  • This pretty green bottle holds a luxe Korean formula inspired by their iconic scalp treatments.
    Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Another angle to factor in is that Baltimore and Cincinnati have pretty low floors.
    Austin Mock, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Adverb
  • The currents in the sea mean that swimming with small children or weak swimmers can be quite unrelaxing.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Jacquelyn is quite private and has no social media accounts.
    Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Palace had held ongoing discussions with the 29-year-old over a new contract, with several offers on the table throughout 2024 and 2025 but none were sufficient to reach an agreement.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • When one crisis follows another without sufficient recovery, elevated arousal can become the operating state from which every subsequent decision is made.
    Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Rex Frazier, a former deputy commissioner at the California Department of Insurance, said that in the situation that the insurers find themselves, the state regulator will be looking at a company’s capital sufficiency.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Since then, the case has remained in the pleading stage, where the county has challenged the sufficiency of the claims without answering them, and the child’s attorneys have revised their complaint three times.
    Bay City News, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2026
Adverb
  • Federal prosecutors and the SEC are examining whether Walter’s insurance companies improperly lent money to businesses connected to him without adequately disclosing the relationships.
    Joshua Hong, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel has raised serious questions about whether PJM adequately considered alternatives to massive new transmission projects.
    Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026
Adverb
  • Renewable capacity can be added relatively quickly, but intermittency increases the need for storage, firm generation, and transmission.
    Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Flippo’s main opponent is Teresa Benitez-Thompson, 48, a longtime Reno resident, former member of the state Assembly and a relatively moderate Democrat.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Adverb
  • The study hypothesized that the sickle was added before the body fully decomposed since no joints were detached or displaced, as archaeologists would expect if a grave were to be disturbed after the body became a skeleton.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Most famously, Iwao Hakamada spent decades on death row over a 1966 quadruple murder before being released in 2014 and fully exonerated in 2024 at the age of 88.
    CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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