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ADEQUATENESS

 - 4 dictionary results

ad⋅e⋅quate

  [ad-i-kwit]
Use ADEQUATENESS in a Sentence
–adjective
1. as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit (often fol. by to or for): This car is adequate to our needs. adequate food for fifty people.
2. barely sufficient or suitable: Being adequate is not good enough.
3. Law. reasonably sufficient for starting legal action: adequate grounds.
Origin:
1610–20; < L adaequātus matched (ptp. of adaequāre). See ad-, equal, -ate 1

Related forms:
ad⋅e⋅quate⋅ly, adverb
ad⋅e⋅quate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. satisfactory, competent, sufficient, enough; capable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ADEQUATENESS
ad·e·quate   (ād'ĭ-kwĭt)   
adj.  

  1. Sufficient to satisfy a requirement or meet a need. See Synonyms at sufficient.

  2. 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.]
ad'e·qua·cy (-kwə-sē), ad'e·quate·ness n., ad'e·quate·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

adequate 
1617, from L. adæquatus "equalized," pp. of adæquare "equalize," from ad- "to" + æquare "make level," from æquus (see equal). The sense is of being "equal to what is required."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ad·e·quate
Function: adjective
: lawfully and reasonably sufficient <adequate grounds for a lawsuit>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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