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

Mortgage rates may not fall far enough to make refinancing worthwhile. — Mike Winters, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026 Sometimes the smartest move is to stop staring at the problem long enough to remember the bigger picture. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Still, the company's move to cut terabytes of storage from paid Microsoft 365 plans is enough to overshadow that improvement for consumers. — Chris Hoffman, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 People who can’t get enough about the Daejon Love story are in luck. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026

Noun

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 The problem is not that the EU and its national governments are not doing enough to spur competitiveness. — Andrew McAfee, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enough

Recent Examples of Synonyms for enough

Adverb

Under sufficiently intense illumination, this emission can stimulate other excited copper atoms to release X-rays traveling in the same direction.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Intelligence, in this formulation, is maintained through nature’s continuing coherence; not added after matter becomes sufficiently complicated.

— Pravir Malik, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of sufficiently

Adverb

The press release probably didn’t need to also say the company imbued it with distinctive character or charm; that’s quite obvious from the design.

— Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 13 Oct. 2026
Nothing, however, has lived on quite like his appreciation for the mundane.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of quite

Adjective

The research fellow also argued that the additional Russian diesel entering global markets is not sufficient to produce a noticeable reduction in consumer fuel prices in the short term.

— Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
And while 388 hp might sound a bit underwhelming as quadruple-digit outputs become more commonplace, the Carrera T’s straight-line performance is more than sufficient in any real-world context.

— Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 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

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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 21 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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