adequacy
noun
ad·e·qua·cy ˈa-di-kwə-sē 
plural adequacies
: the quality or state of being adequate
Did you know?
When we question the adequacy of health-care coverage, or parking facilities, or school funding, we're asking if they are equal to our need. The adjective adequate means "enough" or "acceptable"—though in sentences like "His performance was adequate", it really means "no better than acceptable".
Synonyms
- acceptability
- satisfactoriness
- sufficiency
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the fire department sent someone to determine the adequacy of the building's evacuation plan
Recent Examples on the Web The war is causing worries about the adequacy of energy supplies around the world. 
David Sharp, ajc, 28 Aug. 2022 The war is causing worries about the adequacy of energy supplies around the world. David Sharp, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2022 The war is causing worries about the adequacy of energy supplies around the world. David Sharp, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2022 How frequently are cyber response procedures reviewed, audited and tested to ensure their clarity, adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency? Noah Barsky, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Its Guidance on the Issuance of U.S. Dollar-Backed Stablecoins discusses conditions to confirm adequate backing and ensure redeemability, reserve requirements, and independent periodic audits to provide attestation to the adequacy of reserves. Diana Barrero Zalles, Forbes, 28 June 2022 The Corporation Commission's preliminary agenda for its June 28 meeting includes an item regarding the investigation of the Frontier Companies in Arizona regarding 911 outages and the adequacy of its equipment and facilities. Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 15 June 2022 The plan’s adequacy may soon be tested if the United States sees the same sharp increase in coronavirus cases now bedeviling Europe, a possibility federal officials are anticipating. Anchorage Daily News, 22 Mar. 2022 The adequacy of food supplies has long been a top issue in China, where tens of millions of people died of famine in the early 1960s during Mao’s disastrous agricultural experiments. New York Times, 11 May 2022 See More
David Sharp, ajc, 28 Aug. 2022 The war is causing worries about the adequacy of energy supplies around the world. David Sharp, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2022 The war is causing worries about the adequacy of energy supplies around the world. David Sharp, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2022 How frequently are cyber response procedures reviewed, audited and tested to ensure their clarity, adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency? Noah Barsky, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Its Guidance on the Issuance of U.S. Dollar-Backed Stablecoins discusses conditions to confirm adequate backing and ensure redeemability, reserve requirements, and independent periodic audits to provide attestation to the adequacy of reserves. Diana Barrero Zalles, Forbes, 28 June 2022 The Corporation Commission's preliminary agenda for its June 28 meeting includes an item regarding the investigation of the Frontier Companies in Arizona regarding 911 outages and the adequacy of its equipment and facilities. Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 15 June 2022 The plan’s adequacy may soon be tested if the United States sees the same sharp increase in coronavirus cases now bedeviling Europe, a possibility federal officials are anticipating. Anchorage Daily News, 22 Mar. 2022 The adequacy of food supplies has long been a top issue in China, where tens of millions of people died of famine in the early 1960s during Mao’s disastrous agricultural experiments. New York Times, 11 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
adequ(ate) + -acy
First Known Use
1701, in the meaning defined above
adequacy
noun
as in acceptability
the quality or state of meeting one's needs adequately the fire department sent someone to determine the adequacy of the building's evacuation plan Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- acceptability
- sufficiency
- goodness
- appropriateness
- amplitude
- suitability
- satisfactoriness
- tolerability
- fitness
- suitableness
- correctness
- surplus
- properness
- seemliness
- bountifulness
- overabundance
- copiousness
- abundance
- rightness
- opulence
- oversupply
- surfeit
- excess
- plentifulness
- plenteousness
- plenitude
- plenty
- plentitude
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- inadequacy
- insufficiency
- lack
- lack
- shortage
- deficit
- inadequateness
- scarcity
- dearth
- necessity
- paucity
- unsatisfactoriness
- poverty
- famine
- want
- crunch
- rarity
- need
- meagerness
- scantiness
- privation
- skimpiness
- rareness
- scarceness
- poorness
- scantness