adequately

American  

[ad-i-kwit-lee] / ˈæd ɪ kwɪt li /

adverb

1. in a way that is sufficient, suitable, effective, or appropriate.

   The professor’s vague response failed to adequately answer our questions.

   The clinic needs to be appropriately staffed with permanently employed and adequately trained personnel.

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Other Word Forms

• preadequately adverb
• quasi-adequately adverb
• superadequately adverb

Etymology

Origin of adequately

adequate ( def. ) + -ly

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!

Example Sentences

The board acknowledged that it had fallen short on its diversity and inclusion goals, adding that it did not adequately anticipate “the impact of such an incident in a live event environment.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

But in a statement this year, Mr. Rousseau admitted he is still “unable to express myself adequately in French.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Mangione's lawyers requested the delays because they argued the tight turnaround would make it impossible to prepare adequately for both.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

"Countries that adequately invest in basic education, higher education, and vocational training see stronger economic resilience and higher capacity for innovation," it said.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

After none of the machines adequately cooled the room, one of Garfield's doctors contacted Professor Simon Newcomb, a scientist and mathematician who worked for the U. S. Navy.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• appropriately
• competently
• decently
• satisfactorily
• sufficiently