adequacy
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing adequacy
Power Suffix: -acy
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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.
Adequacy of vitamin B-12 in breast milk is particularly important for infants during the first six months of life when breastfeeding is highly recommended.
From Science Daily • Dec. 1, 2023
They could boost this further by implementing recommendations from last year's G20 Capital Adequacy Framework report, she said.
From Reuters • Jul. 16, 2023
It was, in the bluntest terms, a story about some attempts to help save the world … through initiatives with impenetrably bureaucratic names, like “the Western Resource Adequacy Program.”
From Seattle Times • May 7, 2023
The greatest change, though, was in their “Activity Adequacy Mind-set” score, a specialized questionnaire that measured whether they felt they got enough exercise.
From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 2023
Adequacy in food, clothing and shelter might prove of no avail, for contentment must be mental as well as physical.
From American Negro Slavery A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime by Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell
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.
