ENOUGH Synonyms: 243 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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?

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

enough 1 of 3

adverb

Definition of enough

as in sufficiently

in or to a degree or quantity that meets one's requirements or satisfaction the elevator is big enough to hold everyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pretty

to some degree or extent I can play the piano well enough, but I have no hope for a musical career

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in quite

to a full extent or degree I think we're prepared enough—we just lack the will to actually do it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

enough

2 of 3

adjective

as in sufficient

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

enough

3 of 3

noun

as in sufficiency

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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

The backyard was big enough for another house, and their two-car garage could be turned into a guesthouse. — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 People who don’t yet own face high rates, little for sale and no sign that prices will fall enough to compensate. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Adjective

In Texas, a fight over water had a major impact on the economy in the Rio Grande Valley when the state's last sugar cane mill shut down due to the lack of enough water to keep the crops alive. — Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 While cost may be an issue worth discussing, providing scientists with enough support and motivation to pursue replication projects is still the best path forward. — Mark Louie F. Ramos, STAT, 21 Oct. 2026

Noun

Jewish critics accused Mamdani of insulting victims and fueling antisemitism, while pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a Manhattan vigil to denounce him for not doing enough to hold Israel accountable. — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026 Some students at the event blamed Cornell officials for not doing enough to protect the former student, identified as Jane Doe, while others faulted university investigators and broader institutional issues, including fraternity culture. — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enough

Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough

Adverb

There’s no slicing and dicing without a sufficiently sharp edge.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
According to The Guardian, Lett allowed a BBC subpoena directed to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to proceed Thursday, finding the club sufficiently connected to Trump’s professional activities to fall within the scope of discovery.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of sufficiently

Adverb

That lead seemed pretty secure, considering Rasmussen entered the World Series having allowed three runs in 21 playoff innings against the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
The odds are pretty good there’s going to be a bowl of blueberries near you.

— Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of pretty

Adverb

But now, as everything online morphs into algorithmic social media, the case for concern has crystallized into something quite specific.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Few sports have embraced the pursuit of new audiences quite like F1, the motorsport league acquired by Liberty Media nearly a decade ago.

— Sam Jacobs, Time, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of quite

Adjective

The company intends to keep testing its defenses as model capabilities advance, rather than assume that today’s security measures will remain sufficient.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
For most users, Zuckerberg expects the free Muse tier to be sufficient.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of sufficient

Noun

Eco effort Water sufficiency—including water recycling for irrigation in their treatment plant—in a notoriously dry part of the island is a notable part of the resort’s sustainability efforts.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Rex Frazier, a former deputy commissioner at the California Department of Insurance, said that in the situation that the insurers find themselves, the state regulator will be looking at a company’s capital sufficiency.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of sufficiency

Adverb

Bryant alleged that police relied on the other man’s phone recording without adequately investigating what preceded it.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
These scanners perform adequately for many vehicle owners, delivering error codes that commonly occur.

— BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of adequately

Adverb

As the world’s largest communications satellite network, Starlink can typically support high-speed Internet and data streams for any user or vehicle equipped with a relatively compact Starlink terminal.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
To find out which explanation fits, Boschini and his colleagues used a laser to temporarily disrupt superconductivity in a copper-oxide crystal while the material remained relatively cold.

— Sven Badoux, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of relatively

Adverb

The fully electric design combines a 151 MWh energy storage system with containerized batteries and port charging infrastructure.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
Yet, Wealth Briefing Asia notes that regulatory and reporting challenges often stop family offices from fully embracing crypto assets.

— Angelica Ang, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of fully

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enormousness

enough

enounce

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Style

“Enough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enough. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of enough

adverb

adjective

noun

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Synonyms of enough

adverb

adjective

noun

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