enough 1 of 3

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 backyard was big enough for another house, and their two-car garage could be turned into a guesthouse. — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 People who don’t yet own face high rates, little for sale and no sign that prices will fall enough to compensate. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Adjective
In Texas, a fight over water had a major impact on the economy in the Rio Grande Valley when the state's last sugar cane mill shut down due to the lack of enough water to keep the crops alive. — Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 While cost may be an issue worth discussing, providing scientists with enough support and motivation to pursue replication projects is still the best path forward. — Mark Louie F. Ramos, STAT, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
Some students at the event blamed Cornell officials for not doing enough to protect the former student, identified as Jane Doe, while others faulted university investigators and broader institutional issues, including fraternity culture. — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 The problem is not that the EU and its national governments are not doing enough to spur competitiveness. — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough
Adverb
  • Under sufficiently intense illumination, this emission can stimulate other excited copper atoms to release X-rays traveling in the same direction.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Intelligence, in this formulation, is maintained through nature’s continuing coherence; not added after matter becomes sufficiently complicated.
    — Pravir Malik, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • My first experiments with my at-home cream top were pretty simple.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Watching a sports car drive upside down and then launch itself into the air was pretty incredible.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • But now, as everything online morphs into algorithmic social media, the case for concern has crystallized into something quite specific.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Few sports have embraced the pursuit of new audiences quite like F1, the motorsport league acquired by Liberty Media nearly a decade ago.
    — Sam Jacobs, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The research fellow also argued that the additional Russian diesel entering global markets is not sufficient to produce a noticeable reduction in consumer fuel prices in the short term.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
  • And while 388 hp might sound a bit underwhelming as quadruple-digit outputs become more commonplace, the Carrera T’s straight-line performance is more than sufficient in any real-world context.
    — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Eco effort Water sufficiency—including water recycling for irrigation in their treatment plant—in a notoriously dry part of the island is a notable part of the resort’s sustainability efforts.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Adverb
  • Seldom does the theatre adequately address the topic of enemas.
    — Henry Alford, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • People can’t always plan adequately for the next earthquake, hurricane or natural disaster.
    — Annie Nova, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • The economics depend on utilization A robot’s hourly cost is relatively simple to calculate.
    — Navin Chaddha, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For most of my career, the obvious intersections between business and politics were relatively easy to identify.
    — Amanda Simonian, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • Every flashback sequence is fully animated, even though everything in the present is live-action.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
  • It's also designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, a breakthrough that SpaceX believes will revolutionize spaceflight.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 15 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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