adequate
Americanadjective
-
as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit (often followed by to orfor ).
This car is adequate to our needs.
They’ll provide adequate food for fifty people.
- Synonyms:
- capable, enough, sufficient, competent, satisfactory
-
barely sufficient or suitable.
Being adequate is not good enough.
-
Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action.
adequate grounds.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adequate
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin adaequātus “matched” (past participle of adaequāre ); see ad-, equal, -ate 1
Explanation
When you want to say that something is enough or good enough for a particular need, use the adjective adequate. You might have an adequate amount of flour for a batch of pancakes, but not a lot extra. Adequate can also describe something that is acceptable or satisfactory, but not any better than that. You might say that a student's grades are adequate but need improvement. This word is from Latin adaequāre"to make equal," from the prefix ad- plus aequare "to equal."
Vocabulary lists containing adequate
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 1-10
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "A"
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List 5
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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.
There “can be no assurance that the returns on our AI investments will be adequate to justify the capital deployed,” SpaceX said.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
Patients with vitamin D deficiency were three times more likely to experience moderate to severe pain during the first 24 hours after surgery compared with patients who had adequate vitamin D levels.
From Science Daily • May 20, 2026
Ofcom launched a programme last year to ensure the biggest social media companies have adequate systems in place to deal with illegal material shared on their platforms.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Valvoline holds adequate supply for now and the lower end of its outlook accounts for possible supply shortages, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Clearly I didn’t have an adequate defense about not liking running.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
