adequate
Americanadjective
-
as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit (often followed by to orfor ).
This car is adequate to our needs.
They’ll provide adequate food for fifty people.
- Synonyms:
- capable, enough, sufficient, competent, satisfactory
-
barely sufficient or suitable.
Being adequate is not good enough.
-
Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action.
adequate grounds.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- adequacy noun
- adequately adverb
- adequateness noun
- preadequate adjective
- preadequateness noun
- quasi-adequate adjective
- superadequate adjective
- superadequateness noun
Etymology
Origin of adequate
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin adaequātus “matched” (past participle of adaequāre ); ad-, equal, -ate 1
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.
“Even after considering the preferred equity component in our original Heinz investment, our return has been well short of adequate.”
From MarketWatch
He was polite and responsive, giving adequate answers to my questions but rarely returning the inquiry.
From Los Angeles Times
Not knowing whether the investment in AI infrastructure can produce an adequate return, Marks finds it hard to say whether hyperscalers are undervalued or overvalued.
From MarketWatch
Not knowing whether the investment in AI infrastructure can produce an adequate return, Marks finds it hard to say whether hyperscalers are under or overvalued.
From MarketWatch
Farmers are supposed to have adequate slurry storage to prevent animal welfare issues and any pollution risks due to potential overflowing.
From BBC
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.
