adequately

American

[ad-i-kwit-lee] / ˈæd ɪ kwɪt li /

adverb

in a way that is sufficient, suitable, effective, or appropriate.

The professor’s vague response failed to adequately answer our questions.
The clinic needs to be appropriately staffed with permanently employed and adequately trained personnel.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of adequately

adequate ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

Something has been done adequately when basic requirements are fulfilled. Passing your driver's test probably means you parallel parked adequately; if not, you may have knocked over some cones. The adverb adequately is a synonym for sufficiently, or suitably. If you've adequately fulfilled your course requirements, you're probably neither the best nor the worst student in the class. But you've definitely done well enough that you can pass — so doing something adequately is generally a positive thing, unless you're an overachiever, in which case you might not like that description at all!

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Vocabulary lists containing adequately

The Giver

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But in June, the judge dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit, saying his team had "not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions".

From BBC • May 4, 2026

Refiners have to follow very precise sets of specifications for jet fuel, and also have to make sure the product is completely segregated from other derivatives and adequately stored.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Some asked the judge to reject the plea agreement, saying they didn’t believe it adequately provided justice.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

The family also accuses the school of failing to adequately staff and monitor the hallway area where the Feb. 17 incident took place.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

After none of the machines adequately cooled the room, one of Garfield's doctors contacted Professor Simon Newcomb, a scientist and mathematician who worked for the U. S. Navy.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023