adequately
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adequately
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!
Vocabulary lists containing adequately
The Giver
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 3
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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.
The technology sector has long harvested talent from a pipeline it does not adequately fund, then wondered why the pipeline runs short.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
In some cases, professors were told they could adjust grading approaches if students could no longer adequately prepare for exams without access to Canvas materials.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
But the CAA maintained that the crew held valid licences, were adequately rested and passed health checks on the day of the flight.
From BBC • May 5, 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
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
