adequacy

American  

[ad-i-kwuh-see] / ˈæd ɪ kwə si /

noun

• adequacies
  plural

1. the state or quality of being adequate; sufficiency for a particular purpose.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preadequacy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• adequacies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of adequacy

First recorded in 1800–10; adequ(ate) + -acy

Explanation

Adequacy is the state of being sufficient for the purpose concerned. The meaning doesn't suggest abundance or excellence, or even more than what is absolutely necessary. Adequacy is simply the state of sufficiency. There is a current of equality running through the noun adequacy. The Latin word from which it is derived is adaequāre, "to make something equal to something else." The English word made its appearance in the early 1800s as a derivative of the adjective adequate. Adequacy means being equal to the requirements of the situation — no more, no less. Theater critic Walter Kerr once wrote this scathing review of an actor: "He has delusions of adequacy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

adequacy adequacies

Maxxing, for the most part, fails to satisfy three of those principles — adequacy, balance and diversity.

From Salon ● May 7, 2026

Previously, the EA said the summer schemes would not go ahead due to "concerns about the adequacy of health care provision for vulnerable participating children".

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

Plant-based diets can still be healthy choices, but they may require careful planning and, in some cases, supplementation to ensure nutritional adequacy, particularly in later life.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026

Yet another investigation into the adequacy of Tesla’s fix for a defect in a less-capable system known as Autopilot also continues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

That is odd, considering that America will continue to fund them at a cost of $4 billion a year; and given also the adequacies so painfully evident in Kunduz.

From Economist ● Oct. 8, 2015

Some discussed directly their pains, joys, adequacies, and inadequacies.

From Humanistic Nursing by Josephine G. Paterson

Of course, changes in the adequacies of supplies would be taken account of on either interpretation.

From The Value of Money by Benjamin M. Anderson

Wieland.—Wieland wrote German better than any one else, and had the genuine adequacies and inadequacies of the master.

From Human, All-Too-Human, Part II by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Related Words

• competence
• fairness
• sufficiency