Adequately

How to spell adequately

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce adequately

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does adequately mean?

1. adverbTo a satisfactory or sufficient degree; well enough for the purpose.

Adequately in a sentence

• The new heater warmed the office adequately during the cold spell.

• She felt the budget covered the project adequately for the first year.

Where does adequately come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin adaequare, meaning 'to make equal to' or 'to bring level with', which combined ad- 'to, toward' with aequus 'equal, even, or fair'. The past participle adaequatus gave English the adjective 'adequate' in the early 1600s, carrying the sense of something matched or proportionate to a need. The adverb 'adequately' formed naturally in English by adding the regular -ly ending. The same aequus root sits behind a whole family of familiar words such as 'equal', 'equator', and 'equity', which is a useful reminder that the tricky middle syllable is the 'qu' of equality rather than a plain 'c'. Over time the meaning drifted from strict equality toward 'sufficiently' or 'satisfactorily', so today it usually signals that something meets the standard without exceeding it.

How the word is built

• ad- (to)
• aequ- (equal, level)
• -ate (adjective stem)
• -ly (adverb suffix)