sufficient

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Etymology

From Latin sufficiēns, present participle of sufficiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /səˈfɪʃənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

sufficient (comparative more sufficient, superlative most sufficient)

1. Equal to the end proposed; adequate to wants; enough; ample; competent; as,

   We have provision sufficient for the family

   This army is 'sufficient to defend the country.

   There is not sufficient access to the internet in the some small country villages.

2. Possessing adequate talents or accomplishments; of competent power or ability; qualified; fit.

   A two-week training course is sufficient to get a job in the coach-driving profession.

3. (archaic) Capable of meeting obligations; responsible.
   • 1668, Samuel Pepys, Diary of Samuel Pepys December 23 1668

     ...to take the best ways we can, to make it known to the Duke of York; for, till Sir J. Minnes be removed, and a sufficient man brought into W. Pen's place, when he is gone, it is impossible for this Office ever to support itself.

4. self-sufficient; self-satisfied; content.

Derived terms

• self-sufficient
• sufficiency
• sufficiently

Related terms

• suffice

Translations

adequate to wants

• Catalan: suficient (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 足夠 (cmn), 足够 (cmn) (zúgòu)

• Czech: dostatečný (cs), dostačující (cs), postačující (cs)
• Dutch: voldoende (nl)
• Finnish: riittävä (fi)
• French: suffisant (fr)
• German: ausreichend (de), genügend (de), hinreichend (de)
• Greek: αρκετός (el) (arketós)

• Hungarian: elég (hu)
• Japanese: 充分な (ja) (じゅうぶんな, jūbun na), 足りる (ja) (たりる, tariru)
• Macedonian: доволен (mk) (dóvolen), достатен (mk) (dóstaten)
• Polish: dostateczny (pl) m, wystarczający (pl) m
• Russian: достаточный (ru) (dostátočnyj)
• Slovak: dostatočný (sk)
• Spanish: suficiente (es)
• Swedish: tillräcklig (sv)

of competent power or ability

• Finnish: pätevä (fi), riittävä (fi)
• Japanese: 充分な (ja) (じゅうぶんな, jūbun na), 足りる (ja) (たりる, tariru)

• Macedonian: способен (mk) (spósoben), кадарен (mk) (kádaren)
• Swedish: tillräcklig (sv)

capable of meeting obligations

• Finnish: riittävä (fi)

• Japanese: 充分な (ja) (じゅうぶんな, jūbun na), 足りる (ja) (たりる, tariru)

self-sufficient; self-satisfied; content

• Finnish: itseriittoinen (fi), riittävä (fi)
• French: autosuffisant (fr)

• Japanese: 充分な (ja) (じゅうぶんな, jūbun na), 足りる (ja) (たりる, tariru)
• Macedonian: самодоволен (mk) (samodóvolen), задоволен (mk) (zadóvolen)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: كافي (kāfi)
• Mandarin: 足夠, 足够 (zúgòu)
• Esperanto: sufiĉa (eo)
• Ewe: nyo
• German: genügend (de), ausreichend (de)

• Italian: sufficiente (it)
• Korean: 충분한 (chungbunhan)
• Portuguese: suficiente (pt)
• Spanish: suficiente (es)
• Swedish: tillräcklig
• Turkish: yeterli
• Vietnamese: đủ (vi)

See also

• adequate
• ample
• enough
• plenty

Determiner

sufficient

1. The smallest amount needed.

   Sufficient of us are against this idea that we should stop now.

Translations

the smallest amount needed

• Dutch: genoeg (nl)
• Finnish: riittävästi (fi)

• Japanese: 最小限の (ja) (さいしょうげんの, saishōgen no)
• Manx: dy liooar (gv)

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: Mr · shot · warm · #928: sufficient · conduct · directly · James

External links

• sufficient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• sufficient in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• sufficient at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Latin

Verb

sufficient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of sufficiō