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adequate

[ ad-i-kwit ]
/ ˈæd ɪ kwɪt /
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See synonyms for: adequate / adequately / adequateness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit (often followed by to or for): This car is adequate to our needs.They’ll provide adequate food for fifty people.
barely sufficient or suitable: Being adequate is not good enough.
Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action: adequate grounds.
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Origin of adequate

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin adaequātus “matched” (past participle of adaequāre ); see ad-, equal, -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM adequate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adequate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adequate

adequate
/ (ˈædɪkwɪt) /

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

Derived forms of adequate

adequacy (ˈædɪkwəsɪ), nounadequately, adverb

Word Origin for adequate

C17: from Latin adaequāre to equalize, from ad- to + aequus equal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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