ad ‧ e ‧ quate S3 W3 AC /ˈædɪkwət, ˈædɪkwɪt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ adequacy ≠ ↑ inadequacy ; adverb : ↑ adequately ≠ ↑ inadequately ; adjective : ↑ adequate ≠ ↑ inadequate ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of adaequare 'to make equal' , from ad- 'to' + aequare 'to equal' ]
1 . enough in quantity or of a good enough quality for a particular purpose SYN sufficient OPP inadequate :
Farmers have been slow to make adequate provision for their retirement.
Some creams we tested failed to give adequate protection against UV light.
The standard of his work is barely adequate.
The company has yet to provide an adequate explanation for its actions.
adequate for
Are the parking facilities adequate for 50 cars?
adequate to do something
The lunchtime menu is more than adequate to satisfy the biggest appetite.
2 . fairly good but not excellent ⇨ satisfactory :
Her performance was adequate but lacked originality.
—adequately adverb :
She wasn’t adequately insured.
—adequacy noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ satisfactory good enough – often used when something reaches a fairly good standard, but is not of a high standard:
Her grades are satisfactory.
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For a beginner, this camera produces satisfactory results.
▪ all right/OK spoken not bad, but not very good:
The meal was all right, but rather expensive.
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‘How was the film?’ ‘It was OK.’
▪ reasonable fairly good:
a reasonable standard of living
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The quality of the food was reasonable.
▪ acceptable if something is acceptable to you, you think it is good enough and you are willing to take it:
an acceptable offer
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an acceptable level of risk
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They can't find a solution that is acceptable to both sides.
▪ adequate enough in quantity, or of a good enough standard. Adequate sounds rather formal and is used especially in official contexts:
an adequate supply of drinking water
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adequate standards of hygiene
▪ decent especially spoken good enough in quality – used especially when something is as good as most other things:
I want my kids to get a decent education.
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Where can I get a decent cup of coffee?
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The food’s decent and the service is good.
▪ passable satisfactory, but not of the best quality – used especially about food and drink, or someone’s skill at doing something. Passable sounds rather formal:
a passable French wine
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His Japanese was passable.
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a passable imitation of Barack Obama
▪ be up to scratch informal to be of a good enough standard:
His work wasn’t up to scratch.
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None of the hotels they suggested were up to scratch.
▪ will do informal to be good enough for a particular purpose:
Any kind of paper will do.
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‘How about Ken?’ ‘I suppose he’ll do.’