What does adequate mean?

adequate means "having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in adequate?

adequate has 3 syllables: ad-eq-uate. The stress falls on "ad". In IPA it is /ˈædəkwət/.

What is another word for adequate?

Close synonyms include equal, enough, passable, fair to middling, tolerable. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of adequate?

The recorded antonyms are inadequate.

Is adequate a common word?

adequate is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

adequate — meaning, pronunciation and 3 definitions

adjective

3 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
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”
Synonymsequal
Antonymsinadequate
Similaradequate to competent
2.
sufficient for the purpose
“an adequate income”
“the food was adequate”
“enough food”
“food enough”
Synonymsenough
Similarsufficient
3.
about average; acceptable
“more than adequate as a secretary”
Synonymspassable fair to middling tolerable
Similarsatisfactory

Questions about adequate

What does adequate mean?: adequate means "having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in adequate?: adequate has 3 syllables: ad-eq-uate. The stress falls on "ad". In IPA it is /ˈædəkwət/.
What is another word for adequate?: Close synonyms include equal, enough, passable, fair to middling, tolerable. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of adequate?: The recorded antonyms are inadequate.
Is adequate a common word?: adequate is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for adequate come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

adjective

3 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
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”
Synonymsequal
Antonymsinadequate
Similaradequate to competent
2.
sufficient for the purpose
“an adequate income”
“the food was adequate”
“enough food”
“food enough”
Synonymsenough
Similarsufficient
3.
about average; acceptable
“more than adequate as a secretary”
Synonymspassable fair to middling tolerable
Similarsatisfactory

Questions about adequate

What does adequate mean?: adequate means "having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in adequate?: adequate has 3 syllables: ad-eq-uate. The stress falls on "ad". In IPA it is /ˈædəkwət/.
What is another word for adequate?: Close synonyms include equal, enough, passable, fair to middling, tolerable. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of adequate?: The recorded antonyms are inadequate.
Is adequate a common word?: adequate is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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adequate

adjective

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adequate

adjective

Questions about adequate