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sufficiency

[suh-fish-uh n-see]
See more synonyms for sufficiency on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or fact of being sufficient; adequacy.
  2. a sufficient number or amount; enough.
  3. adequate provision or supply, especially of wealth.
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Origin of sufficiency

1485–95; < Late Latin sufficientia; see sufficient, -ency
Related formso·ver·suf·fi·cien·cy, nounpre·suf·fi·cien·cy, nounsu·per·suf·fi·cien·cy, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

enoughplenty

Examples from the Web for sufficiency

Historical Examples

  • With national ownership a sufficiency of cars would be provided.

    The Railroad Question

    William Larrabee

  • With them he fences heroically and causes a sufficiency of clatter and noise.

    Mountain Meditations

    L. Lind-af-Hageby

  • Beyond a sufficiency for his daily needs money has not much value.

  • Indeed, there had been a sufficiency of law and lawyers in my affairs already.

    Dross

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • These concern the sufficiency of the consideration and the moment when the contract is made.

    The Common Law

    Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for sufficiency

sufficiency

noun plural -cies
  1. the quality or condition of being sufficient
  2. an adequate amount or quantity, as of income
  3. archaic efficiency
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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

Word Origin and History for sufficiency

n.

late 15c., from Latin sufficientia, from sufficiens (see sufficient) + -cy. Sufficience is from late 14c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper