sufficient

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective sufficient contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of sufficient are adequate, competent, and enough. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need.

sufficient savings

When might adequate be a better fit than sufficient?

The synonyms adequate and sufficient are sometimes interchangeable, but adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

the service was adequate

Where would competent be a reasonable alternative to sufficient?

Although the words competent and sufficient have much in common, 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

How are the words enough and sufficient related?

Enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient.

do you have enough food?

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 sufficient Some committee members have indicated that Southington doesn’t need a bus system, that micro transit services (small buses offering door to door service) would be sufficient to satisfy the public transportation needs of Southington’s residents. George Pohorilak, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2025 Without a sufficient amount of melanin, eyesight may be affected.3 Living With Hypopigmentation The prognosis for hypopigmentation varies depending on the cause. Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 4 Apr. 2025 Benjamin and other advocates say systemic changes such as ensuring hospitals offer sufficient financial aid to patients and reining in high medical prices would be more valuable in preventing people from sinking into debt. Noam Levey, NPR, 4 Apr. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for sufficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sufficient
Adjective
  • Production values are adequate, apart from the occasional iffy digital effect.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Concerns have been raised about DOGE operatives, many with ties to Musk's companies, gaining access to sensitive government data without adequate oversight or experience.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Ars wrote more about why this is a reasonable path forward last September.
    Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Ovechkin’s 52 in a high-scoring 2005-06 season feels like a reasonable benchmark for modern snipers, and even that’s tough.
    Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Context: Ever since two-time Super Bowl champ Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022, the team has failed to field a QB that has provided acceptable consistency.
    Ryan Deto, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
  • But many Republicans still back Ukraine, and have been skeptical about Putin agreeing to an acceptable deal.
    Laura Kelly, The Hill, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The sound from the optional Bose 12-speaker upgrade is satisfactory.
    Josh Max, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Yet a great deal remained to be paid with funds expected after the submission of satisfactory progress reports.
    Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • From the point of view of Paul, Weiss, having to strike this arrangement wasn’t pleasant, but the price was tolerable.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Analysts expect the pill to be as effective, safe and tolerable to take as Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide – the active ingredient in its popular but costly weight loss injection Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic.
    Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • His character is a foreman, a father, a friend — just a decent, salt-of-the-earth dude, albeit one with a Costco-sized body count from his distant past.
    John DeVore, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025
  • The Seagate Expansion desktop hard drive stores a ridiculous 28 terabytes of data inside its relatively small footprint, with decent speed for a drive of this type and simple setup on both Windows and iOS machines.
    K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sufficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sufficient. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on sufficient

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