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enough
[ ih-nuhf ]
adjective
- adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire:
enough water;
noise enough to wake the dead.
Synonyms: ample
pronoun
- an adequate quantity or number; sufficiency.
adverb
- in a quantity or degree that answers a purpose or satisfies a need or desire; sufficiently.
Synonyms: reasonably, adequately, amply
- fully or quite:
ready enough.
interjection
- (used to express impatience or exasperation):
Enough! I heard you the first time.
enough
/ ɪˈnʌf /
determiner
- sufficient to answer a need, demand, supposition, or requirement; adequate
enough cake
- ( as pronoun )
enough is now known
- that's enough!that will do: used to put an end to an action, speech, performance, etc
adverb
- so as to be adequate or sufficient; as much as necessary
you have worked hard enough
- not used with a negative very or quite; rather
she was pleased enough to see me
- (intensifier)
oddly enough
surprisingly enough
- just adequately; tolerably
he did it well enough
Word History and Origins
Origin of enough1
Word History and Origins
Origin of enough1
Idioms and Phrases
- fair enough
- had enough
- leave well enough alone
- not enough room to swing a cat
- sure enough
- (enough) to wake the dead
Example Sentences
Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston previously warned that the company only has enough cash to survive till next May but many think it will run out of money by Christmas.
Luckily, Erivo is a gifted enough performer to transcend these mystifying decisions.
Department of Agriculture revealed that nearly 18 million families — 13.5% of U.S. households — struggled to afford enough food.
The mere threat of that — of publicly and explicitly neutering the Senate — could be enough for the GOP caucus to get in line.
She said: "The reason we wanted these sessions was to build Elen’s self confidence and it did the absolute opposite in terms of feeling rejected, or not good enough, or just not important enough."
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More About Enough
What is a basic definition of enough?
Enough is an adjective that describes something that is adequate for an intended purpose. Enough is also used as an adverb to mean sufficiently or fully. Enough also has senses as a pronoun and an interjection.
Enough describes something as being adequate or sufficient. If you have enough of something, you have at least met the minimum requirement.
- Real-life examples: If you have enough money to buy food, you won’t run out of money when you purchase it, though you might not have a lot of money left afterwards. If you have enough points to pass a test, you won’t fail the test but you won’t get an A, either.
- Used in a sentence: We had 15 people show up, enough to form our basketball team.
As an adverb, enough means in a degree that is satisfactory. This sense is often used in the negative to mean something failed to meet expectations or was insufficient.
- Real-life examples: If your boss doesn’t think you work hard enough, they may fire you. If you practice the violin enough, you may become better at playing it.
- Used in a sentence: The door was just wide enough to fit the couch through it.
Enough is also used to mean fully, quite, or plenty. This sense is used to describe a situation where something has met the maximum requirement and anything more is unnecessary. This sense is not used in the negative.
- Real-life examples: If you can pay all your bills and go on vacation, you can say you earn enough. You know you’ve studied enough when you can answer all the practice questions correctly.
- Used in a sentence: She decided the dog had eaten enough and took the food bowl away.
Where does enough come from?
The first records of enough come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English word genōh and is related to the German genug and the Old Norse nōgr.
Did you know ... ?
What are some synonyms for enough?
What are some words that share a root or word element with enough?
What are some words that often get used in discussing enough?
How is enough used in real life?
Enough is a very common word that refers to an acceptable amount of something.
I just wish I had enough money to spoil my friends and family like they deserve 🥺
— Caro✨ (@carver_caroline) December 10, 2020
Everyone has an inner voice telling them they're not good enough. All of your favorite artists refused to listen to that voice.
You should ignore it, too.
— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) December 6, 2020
I STILL don’t think I’ve got my Haters mad enough……
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 10, 2019
Try using enough!
True or False?
$10 is enough money to buy a shirt that costs $8.
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.
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