adequate

Definitions

ad- (to) + equ (equal) + -ate = 'made equal to' the standard required. Something adequate has been brought up *level with* what the situation demands — no more. That is why it often sounds faintly minimal: it meets the bar, but rarely exceeds it.

Why It Means This

Adequate hides an equ root: it literally means 'equal to' the requirement. Because it signals 'just matches the standard,' it carries a quietly faint-praise tone — adequate housing, an adequate performance. Calling work 'adequate' means it is acceptable, not impressive.

Common Collocations

• 1.adequate resources充足的资源
• 2.adequate funding充足的资金
• 3.adequate supply充足的供应
• 4.more than adequate绰绰有余
• 5.barely adequate勉强够用

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The salary is adequate but hardly generous.

• 2.

  We need adequate funding to finish the project.

• 3.

  Her explanation was adequate, though not entirely convincing.

Easily Confused

adequate vs. sufficient — both mean 'enough,' but adequate often hints 'only just enough, acceptable in quality' (an adequate meal), while sufficient is a neutral statement of quantity (sufficient evidence). Adequate can sound like faint praise; sufficient does not.