SUFFICIENT Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: How are the words 'enough' and 'sufficient' related?

Enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient . // do you have enough food?

sufficient

adjective

Definition of sufficient

as in adequate

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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 The ban will help ensure sufficient water reserves remain available for fire protection and essential customer needs. — Jack Perry, The Providence Journal, 3 July 2026 Students are unlikely to seek large loans for doctoral study in a field offering mostly low-paying jobs, and current loan limits are likely sufficient for those seeking two-year master’s degrees. — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 2 July 2026 Whether there would be sufficient political support is unknown, but Congress could use that threat to urge MLB to strike a deal with the MLBPA. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 July 2026 The Real Lesson From Early Incidents These incidents are an early signal of how quickly things can go wrong when autonomous systems are given operational access without sufficient controls. — Michael Nicosia, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for sufficient

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sufficient

Adjective

Today, some of the world’s most critical infrastructure sits on the seabed with far less attention, mostly because adequate tech doesn't exist.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 July 2026
Employees didn’t take adequate measures to minimize staff travel costs contrary to state policy.

— Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026

Definition of adequate

Adjective

Part of what’s at work is a reasonable desire to give a party with more than its share of grizzled congressional veterans a jolt of youthful energy.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
This week prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 July 2026

Definition of reasonable

Adjective

Kelley said the company believed the existing easement was satisfactory and wasn’t told otherwise until after investing years of work on he project.

— Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026
For writing, editing, spreadsheets, email, and web browsing, performance proved entirely satisfactory.

— Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 21 June 2026

Definition of satisfactory

Adjective

The weather was tolerable in the morning, but by the afternoon, sweat was beading down their foreheads.

— Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
And expect the real negotiation to happen less between Ankara and Tehran than between Ankara and Washington, over what payment mechanism, if any, is tolerable.

— Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of tolerable

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sufficiency

sufficient

sufficiently

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“Sufficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sufficient. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of sufficient

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