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.
Anandkumar said the facility “does not appear to have adequate staffing, stable on-site management, sufficient clinical and operational oversight, or an effective quality assurance process to identify and promptly address care-related problems.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Officials will not prevent players from visiting the touchline as an injury is treated but it is hoped the prospect of playing with 10 players for a minute will act as an adequate disincentive.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The challenge is discerning the elegant from the adequate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"The commercial market has grown faster than the clinical evidence base," the paper read, and "the absence of adequate clinical evidence for use in humans is an alarming safety concern."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
None of this is adequate, but it’s all I can manage.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
