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.
"No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
On training, 78% of those who are managers and above say employees are adequately trained, but only 56% of the entry- and mid-level employees agree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
He urged AI labs to "listen when your scientists warn of severe dangers, investigate unexpected behaviours, and if you can't adequately control the risks, do not release the system".
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Bass and the council members blamed the CoC for not planning adequately for a large audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
For, I cannot adequately express what pain it gave me to think that Estella should show any favour to a contemptible, clumsy, sulky booby, so very far below the average.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
