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enough

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adjective

enough

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective enough contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of enough are adequate, competent, and sufficient. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

When would adequate be a good substitute for enough?

Although the words adequate and enough have much in common, adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

When is it sensible to use competent instead of enough?

The words competent and enough can be used in similar contexts, but competent suggests measuring up to all requirements without question or being adequately adapted to an end.

had no competent notion of what was going on

When is sufficient a more appropriate choice than enough?

The synonyms sufficient and enough are sometimes interchangeable, but sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of enough
Adverb
Key to My Heart Embossed Manhattan Mini Tote $248 $148 at Amazon This adorable mini tote is just big enough to fit your phone, a slim wallet, and a few small essentials like your go-to lipstick or favorite sunglasses. Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2025 Chicago Tribune His players don’t look at him as a guy old enough to be their grandfather. Paul Newberry, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
If that’s not enough Kiss, fans will also get to attend concerts by Kiss tribute bands and participate in what the group describes as interactive activities and exclusive experiences. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2025 Waymo may have been responsible for three other crashes—there wasn’t enough information to say for certain. ArsTechnica, 27 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for enough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough
Adverb
  • But, at this point, that’s pretty low on the list of priorities for him.
    Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 24 Mar. 2025
  • And Laurie pretty much tells her all of that, much to Kate’s horror.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Adverb
  • This isn’t quite the same thing, because Pornchai isn’t the heir to a family fortune and intends for a more straightforward partnership.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Meeting with a financial advisor could be quite beneficial to you now.
    Kyle Thomas, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • One key question was how FEMA could ensure that removing 6 inches of soil would be sufficient to rid properties of toxic substances.
    Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
  • With sharpness early in the season providing sufficient rotation certainty, the Pirates will wait to call up Paul Skenes until June.
    Johnny Flores Jr., New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Done right, the concept naturally corresponds with the principle of reasonable sufficiency.
    Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2015
  • The explicit goals of the long term financial plan are revenue sufficiency and rate calculation.
    Graham P. Johnson, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • Reliability cannot be adequately tested due to lack of scale, economic value is still hypothetical and early adopters may be buying the robot for curiosity or marketing purposes. 6.
    Jeff Mahler, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
  • One Polish ministry disputed this claim, saying it was not adequately warned about the uncontrolled reentry.
    Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025
Adverb
  • By assessing areas that are densely populated but relatively underserved by current franchises, this analysis aims to identify the most promising locations for future NBA expansion.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Though still relatively confidential, Larramendy confirmed that new titles would debut on M6+ Max before traditional broadcast.
    Jamie Lang, Variety, 27 Mar. 2025
Adverb
  • Using glass can improve wireless signal strength compared to fully metal bodies, too.
    Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Again, the exact mechanism of the pain relief caused by placebos is not fully understood.
    Paul Hsieh, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • At this range, a 1 m object maps into 3-4 camera pixels, adequate for recognition and range estimation.
    Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • As our predecessors became terrestrial and moved to dry, hot environments, salt became scarcer, and the craving for sodium likely developed as a survival mechanism to ensure adequate intake.
    Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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