ample
[am-puhl]
- fully sufficient or more than adequate for the purpose or needs; plentiful; enough: an ample supply of water; ample time to finish.
- of sufficient or abundant measure; liberal; copious: an ample reward.
- of adequate or more than adequate extent, size, or amount; large; spacious; roomy: ample storage space.
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Origin of ample
1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French < Latin amplus wide, large
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
1. See plentiful. 2. Ample, liberal, copious, profuse describe degrees of abundant provision. Ample implies a plentiful provision: to give ample praise. Liberal implies provision from a generous supply (more than ample but less than copious ): Liberal amounts of food were distributed to the needy. Copious implies an apparently inexhaustible and lavish abundance: a copious flow of tears. Profuse implies a still more unrestrained abundance of provision or flow: profuse in his apologies.
Antonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
wide, generous, great, bountiful, copious, plentiful, voluminous, substantial, spacious, broad, expansive, extensive, abundant, abounding, big, capacious, commodious, enough, full, galoreExamples from the Web for ample
Contemporary Examples
For anything to work, including law itself, there must be ample room for individual responsibility.
Three years later, Washington came armed with ample alcohol—enough for a half gallon for every voter—and won with 331 votes.
Do you feel they did an ample job of portraying his troubled later years—in particular, the violence towards women?
Octavia Spencer on Hollywood and Race: The Film Roles I’m Offered Are Too SmallMarlow Stern
July 31, 2014
It typically came with a desk in the building, and ample access to lawmakers.
There is ample proof that he is a total badass on and off the pitch.
Historical Examples
He had ample girth of chest at the cinches, where lung capacity is best measured.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
To the good supper which he brought with him I did ample justice.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and CaliforniaBrevet Col. J.C. Fremont
If we get him this appointment, it will be ample compensation, anyhow.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
He could have taken two or three known men, and they would have been ample to do the work.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
I slept two or three hours, however, and had ample time for reflection.
Biography of a SlaveCharles Thompson
ample
- more than sufficient; abundantan ample helping
- large in size, extent, or amountof ample proportions
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French, from Latin amplus spacious
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ample
adj.
mid-15c., from Middle French ample, from Latin amplus "large, spacious," related to ampla "handle, grip."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper