sufficiently

Sufficiently is an adverb meaning to a degree that meets a need or standard; it indicates adequacy rather than quantity and is commonly used to describe whether something is enough to achieve a purpose. The word derives from the adjective sufficient, which comes from Latin sufficiens, from sufficere “to be enough,” with the suffix -ly forming the adverb.

In use, sufficiently typically precedes an adjective, another adverb, or a participle: for example, “The test was sufficiently difficult for most students,” “The evidence is sufficiently strong to convict,” and “The device is sufficiently powered to operate.” In formal or technical prose, sufficiently is preferred over more casual options, though “enough” can often convey a similar idea in everyday language. The adverb can modify phrases such as “sufficiently large,” “sufficiently fast,” or “sufficiently well.”

In logic and philosophy, the term sufficient appears in expressions like “a sufficient condition,” which means that if the condition holds, the result follows. A sufficient condition does not necessarily have to be the only way the outcome can occur; it may not be a necessary condition.

Related forms include sufficient (adjective), sufficiency (noun), and sufficiently (adverb). See also sufficiency, enough, and adequate.