adequate

American  

[ad-i-kwit] / ˈæd ɪ kwɪt /

adjective

1. 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

2. barely sufficient or suitable.

   Being adequate is not good enough.

3. Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action.

   adequate grounds.

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adequate British  

/ ˈædɪkwəsɪ, ˈædɪkwɪt /

adjective

1. able to fulfil a need or requirement without being abundant, outstanding, etc

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Other Word Forms

• adequacy noun
• adequately adverb
• adequateness noun
• preadequate adjective
• preadequateness noun
• quasi-adequate adjective
• superadequate adjective
• superadequateness noun

Etymology

Origin of adequate

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin adaequātus “matched” (past participle of adaequāre ); ad-, equal, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

They are also concerned about the risks of storing nuclear waste on the island and whether evacuation plans are adequate, among other things.

From The Wall Street Journal

Major defense companies that have been testing for decades typically understand their boundaries and have adequate mitigation measures on site, analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal

Children's Commissioner for England Rachel De Souza told the BBC she was concerned the government were not providing care leavers with adequate long-term support.

From BBC

The authors note the need for future studies to explore whether pairing GLP-1 therapies with adequate dietary choline can help maintain metabolic resilience and overall health.

From Science Daily

She was on that ward because there was "no alternative" and "no adequate bed" for her risk level was available, the court heard.

From BBC

Related Words

• acceptable
• capable
• competent
• decent
• fair
• satisfactory
• sufficient
• suitable
• tolerable