sufficient
Americanadjective
-
adequate for the purpose; enough.
sufficient proof;
sufficient protection.
- Antonyms:
- inadequate, scant, meager
-
Logic. (of a condition) such that its existence leads to the occurrence of a given event or the existence of a given thing.
-
Archaic. competent.
adjective
-
enough to meet a need or purpose; adequate
-
logic (of a condition) assuring the truth of a statement; requiring but not necessarily required by some other state of affairs Compare necessary
-
archaic competent; capable
noun
Other Word Forms
- oversufficient adjective
- oversufficiently adverb
- presufficient adjective
- presufficiently adverb
- quasi-sufficient adjective
- quasi-sufficiently adverb
- sufficiently adverb
- supersufficient adjective
- supersufficiently adverb
Etymology
Origin of sufficient
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin sufficient-, stem of sufficiēns “supplying,” present participle of sufficere “to supply, suffice,” equivalent to suf- suf- + -ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make”; suffice
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.
Alito, however, might as well have been describing Brown, whose unlawful presence—obviously subject to arrest—was sufficient to bring him within allegiance to Virginia.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026
Despite criticism, government ministers have repeatedly said they made sufficient preparations - moving in additional jets, air defence systems and personnel to Cyprus weeks before the conflict started.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
Going without insurance only makes sense if you have sufficient liquid assets to cover a worst-case scenario and move on.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026
“Resources that were already barely sufficient for the poorest will now have to stretch even further.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
Colonel Aureliano Buendía left his room in December and it was sufficient for him to look at the porch in order not to think about war again.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
