sufficient

[suh-fish-uhnt]

adjective

1. adequate for the purpose; enough.

   sufficient proof;

   sufficient protection.

   Antonyms: inadequate, scant, meager

2. Logic.,  (of a condition) such that its existence leads to the occurrence of a given event or the existence of a given thing.

3. Archaic.,  competent.

sufficient

/ səˈfɪʃənt /

adjective

1. enough to meet a need or purpose; adequate

2. logic (of a condition) assuring the truth of a statement; requiring but not necessarily required by some other state of affairs Compare necessary

3. archaic,  competent; capable

noun

1. a sufficient quantity

Other Word Forms

• sufficiently adverb
• oversufficient adjective
• oversufficiently adverb
• presufficient adjective
• presufficiently adverb
• quasi-sufficient adjective
• quasi-sufficiently adverb
• supersufficient adjective
• supersufficiently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sufficient¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin sufficient-, stem of sufficiēns “supplying,” present participle of sufficere “to supply, suffice,” equivalent to suf- suf- + -ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make”; suffice

Word History and Origins

Origin of sufficient¹

C14: from Latin sufficiens supplying the needs of, from sufficere to _suffice

Example Sentences

The Windsors’ world is far from that of ordinary mortals, but no measure of diplomacy, alas, seems sufficient to repair such a tear in a family’s fabric.

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That widespread usage complicated efforts to source a sufficient supply of replacements, executives and analysts said.

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She characterized the labor market as roughly balanced, with job growth sufficient to stabilize unemployment.

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Detainees, it said, are held in extremely crowded cells for days without bedding, sanitary products or sufficient food and water.

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“It’s not sufficient to just keep doing what you were doing before, because the field evolves and the world evolves,” Baicker, the provost, said of the humanities changes.

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Related Words

• acceptable 
• ample 
• plentiful 
• satisfactory 
• tolerable