adequate

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia.

ad·e·quate

(ăd′ĭ-kwĭt)

adj.

Sufficient to satisfy a requirement or meet a need. See Synonyms at sufficient.

[Latin adaequātus, past participle of adaequāre, to equalize : ad-, ad- + aequāre, to make equal, from aequus, equal.]

ad′e·qua·cy (-kwə-sē), ad′e·quate·ness n.

ad′e·quate·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adequate

(ˈædɪkwɪt)

adj

able to fulfil a need or requirement without being abundant, outstanding, etc

[C17: from Latin adaequāre to equalize, from ad- to + aequus equal]

adequacy n

ˈadequately adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ad•e•quate

(ˈæd ɪ kwɪt)

adj.

1. as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit.

2. barely sufficient or suitable.

3. Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action.

[1610–20; < Latin adaequātus matched, past participle of adaequāre. See ad-, equal, -ate¹]

ad′e•quate•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	adequate - having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task; "she had adequate training"; "her training was adequate"; "she was adequate to the job"; "he was equal to the task" equal satisfactory - giving satisfaction; "satisfactory living conditions"; "his grades were satisfactory" inadequate, unequal - lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task; "inadequate training"; "the staff was inadequate"; "she was unequal to the task"
	2.	adequate - sufficient for the purpose; "an adequate income"; "the food was adequate"; "a decent wage"; "enough food"; "food enough" enough, decent sufficient - of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant; "sufficient food"
	3.	adequate - about average; acceptable; "more than adequate as a secretary" fair to middling, passable, tolerable satisfactory - giving satisfaction; "satisfactory living conditions"; "his grades were satisfactory"

adequate

adjective

1. passable, acceptable, middling, average, fair, ordinary, moderate, satisfactory, competent, mediocre, so-so (informal), tolerable, up to scratch (informal), presentable, unexceptional One in four people are without adequate homes.
passable lacking, inadequate, unsatisfactory, scant, meagre, deficient

2. sufficient, enough, capable, suitable, requisite an amount adequate to purchase another house
sufficient short, inadequate, insufficient, unsuitable

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

adequate

adjective

1. Being what is needed without being in excess:

comfortable, competent, decent, enough, satisfactory, sufficient.

2. Of moderately good quality but less than excellent:

acceptable, all right, average, common, decent, fair, fairish, goodish, moderate, passable, respectable, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable.

Informal: OK, tidy.

Translations

كافكَافِ

přiměřenýúměrnýadekvátníodpovídající

tilstrækkelig

angemessen adäquat hinreichend befriedigend

adecuado suficiente

riittävä

adéquat convenable suffisant

adekvát

nægilegur

adeguato appropriato equo

pakankamaipakankamaspakankamumas

atbilstošspietiekams

adekvat tilstrekkelig

adekwatny odpowiedni

postačujúci

ustrezenzadostenzadovoljiv

adekvattillämplig

yeterli uygun

đầy đủđủ

足够的

adequate

[ˈædɪkwɪt] ADJ

1. (= sufficient) [funds] → suficiente
an adequate supply of food → suficientes alimentos
one teaspoonful should be adequate → una cucharadita bastará or será suficiente
I didn't think the sentence was adequate → la sentencia no me pareció correcta

2. (= satisfactory) [diet] → equilibrado, apropiado; [income, standard] → aceptable; [housing, facilities] → adecuado, apropiado
he failed to provide an adequate explanation for the delay → no fue capaz de dar una explicación convincente de su retraso
is she the most adequate person to do it? → ¿es la persona más adecuada or idónea para hacerlo?
there are no words adequate to express my gratitude → no hay palabras que expresen adecuadamente mi gratitud
to be adequate for sb [housing] → ser adecuado para algn
my income is quite adequate for my needs → mis ingresos cubren bien mis necesidades
this saw should be adequate for the job → este serrucho valdrá para ese trabajo
this typewriter is perfectly adequate → esta máquina de escribir me sirve perfectamente
to feel adequate to a task → sentirse capacitado para una tarea

3. (pej) (= passable) [performance, essay] → aceptable, pasable
the pay was adequate but hardly out of this world → el sueldo era aceptable or pasable, pero desde luego, nada del otro mundo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

adequate

[ˈædɪkwət] adj

(= sufficient) [amount, supply, pay] → suffisant(e); [protection, security] → suffisant(e)

(= satisfactory, up to standard) [performance] → satisfaisant(e); [home] → acceptable
to feel adequate to the task → se sentir à la hauteur de la tâche

(= appropriate) [response, reply] → approprié(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

adequate

adj → adäquat; (= sufficient also) supply, heating system → ausreichend; time → genügend inv; excuse → angemessen; to be adequate (= sufficient) → (aus)reichen, genug sein; (= good enough) → zulänglich or adäquat sein; this is just not adequate → das ist einfach unzureichend or (not good enough also) → nicht gut genug; more than adequate → mehr als genug; heating → mehr als ausreichend; there are no words adequate to express my gratitude → meine Dankbarkeit läßt sich in Worten gar nicht ausdrücken; to be adequate to the task → der Aufgabe (dat) → gewachsen sein

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

adequate

[ˈædɪkwɪt] adj (amount, supply) adequate (for/to do sth) → sufficiente (a/per fare qc); (reward, description, explanation) adequate (for) → adeguato/a (a); (tool) adequate (to) → adatto/a (a); (essay, performance) → passabile; (person) → all'altezza
to feel adequate to a task → sentirsi all'altezza di un compito

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

adequate

(ˈӕdikwət) adjective

sufficient; enough. He does not earn a large salary but it is adequate for his needs.

ˈadequately adverb

ˈadequacy noun

adequate

a. adecuado-a, proporcionado-a.

adequate

adj adecuado, suficiente

References in classic literature ?

The act from Annapolis recommends the "appointment of commissioners to take into consideration the situation of the United States; to devise SUCH FURTHER PROVISIONS as shall appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of the federal government ADEQUATE TO THE EXIGENCIES OF THE UNION; and to report such an act for that purpose, to the United States in Congress assembled, as when agreed to by them, and afterwards confirmed by the legislature of every State, will effectually provide for the same."

View in context

I have written the present volume because I have found no other that, to my mind, combines satisfactory accomplishment of these ends with a selection of authors sufficiently limited for clearness and with adequate accuracy and fulness of details, biographical and other.

View in context

Perhaps Charles Strickland was dull judged by a standard that demanded above all things verbal scintillation; but his intelligence was adequate to his surroundings, and that is a passport, not only to reasonable success, but still more to happiness.

View in context

Hem's theory, in so far as it professes to be an adequate explanation of "mysterious disappearances," is open to many obvious objections; to fewer as he states it himself in the "spacious volubility" of his book.

View in context

Of which we wish we could give our readers a more adequate translation than that by Mr Creech--

View in context

No more can it be explained than can a human judge, sentencing a convicted criminal and imposing eight years imprisonment instead of the five or nine years that also at the same time floated upward in his brain, explain why he categorically determined on eight years as the just, adequate punishment.

View in context

She had given reasons which he was unwilling to acknowledge as adequate. He hoped she had not acted upon her rash impulse; and he begged her to consider first, foremost, and above all else, what people would say.

View in context

Captain Peleg's bruited reason for this thing appeared by no means adequate; though, indeed, as touching all Ahab's deeper part, every revelation partook more of significant darkness than of explanatory light.

View in context

As the President is to be elected for no more than four years, it can rarely happen that an adequate salary, fixed at the commencement of that period, will not continue to be such to its end.

View in context

As regards scale or length, we have already laid down an adequate limit:--the beginning and the end must be capable of being brought within a single view.

View in context

"I really had no adequate idea of the coarseness and rudeness which have filtered their way through society in these later times until I saw the reception accorded to my wife.

View in context

Adequate was he for his deed when he did it, but the idea of it, he could not endure when it was done.