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.
Adequately treating the sewage on both sides of the border would cost an estimated $1 billion; Congress has appropriated more than $300 million so far.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Adequately addressing homelessness requires action on a broad front, including support for multiple forms of housing and focused social services and treatment.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2024
Adequately tackling antisemitism means considering how other aspects of identity might factor into people's experiences of anti-Jewish discrimination or hatred.
From Salon • Jan. 14, 2023
That’s the takeaway message from a new report from California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office titled, “Do Communities Adequately Plan for Housing?”
From Washington Times • Mar. 22, 2017
Adequately sacred though they were, they were yet free and flexible.
From Ancient Art and Ritual by Harrison, Jane Ellen
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.
