adj.
- Sufficient to satisfy a requirement or meet a need. See synonyms at sufficient.
- Barely satisfactory or sufficient: The skater's technique was only adequate.
[Latin adaequātus, past participle of adaequāre, to equalize : ad-, ad- + aequāre, to make equal, from aequus, equal.]
adequacy ad'e·qua·cy (-kwə-sē) or ad'e·quate·ness n.adequately ad'e·quate·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
