sufficientsuf‧fi‧cient /səˈfɪʃənt/ ●●○ W2 AWL adjective formal 
Word Origin
We can only prosecute if there is sufficient evidence. Unauthorized absence is sufficient reason for dismissal. We need sufficient time to deal with the problem.sufficient to do something The money is not sufficient to cover everything that needs doing.sufficient for The recipe is sufficient for six people.► see thesaurus at enough—sufficiently adverb: Students must reach a sufficiently high standard to pass.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsufficient
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Latin present participle of sufficere; ➔ SUFFICEEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- It was decided that there was sufficient evidence to convict Marconi.
- Proof of sufficient funds is required for entrance into Namibia.
- The money should be sufficient for one month's travel.
- Give yourself sufficient time to get really stuck into your subject-matter.
- Given sufficient time with other things remaining unchanged, prices and wages would eventually be adjusted and full employment may be restored.
- However, with endowments and Isas, there is always the risk that investment returns will not be sufficient.
- In fact, sufficient nuclei are always present in the atmosphere.
- Macleod was attacked by both liberals and conservatives in the Legco for failing to provide sufficient tax concessions to middle income earners.
- This is not true of all goods, but that it is true of a substantial part is sufficient.
THESAURUS► enough
Collocations as much or as many as necessary, or as you want: · My family never had enough money for holidays abroad.· Have you had enough to eat?
► sufficient formal enough for a particular purpose: · The police did not have sufficient evidence to justify a charge.· The accuracy of the older technique was sufficient for our needs.
► adequate formal enough in quantity or good enough in quality for a particular purpose: · All staff must be given adequate training in health and safety.· The heating system was barely adequate.
► ample more than enough for what is needed: · Local residents will be given ample opportunity to express their views.· People used to think that 1 GB of memory was ample for the average personal computer.
► plenty an amount that is enough or more than enough: · Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport.· Your daughter won’t need much cash at camp ($20-$25 will be plenty).
► something will do/something should do spoken used to say that a particular number or amount will be enough for what you need: · ‘How many envelopes do you want?’ ‘Ten should do.’
Longman Language Activatorwhen there is enough of something you need► enough · Here's $20. Is that enough?· Have you got enough drivers? I can help if you need me.enough something to do something · I make enough money to pay the bills and keep food on the table.enough (something) for something · Will there be enough room for Joey in the car?· This recipe makes enough for eight people.more than enough (=more than you need) · I've given you more than enough time to make up your mind.I've had enough (=say this when you have eaten enough food) · "Would you like some more pizza?" "No thanks, I've had enough."
► sufficient formal enough: · It was decided that there was sufficient evidence to convict Marconi.sufficient for: · The money should be sufficient for one month's travel.
► adequate formal enough in amount, and good enough in quality: · None of his workers received adequate safety training.adequate for: · The heating system would only be adequate for a much smaller house.
► will/should do spoken use this to say that a particular number or amount will be enough for what you need: · "I can't find any more envelopes." "That's OK - these should do."will do: · I can lend you some money -- will £10 do?something should do for something/something ought to do for something: · Ten bottles of wine should do for the party.That should do it/That ought to do it/That'll do it: · Take a few more for the kids. There, that should do it.something should do/ought to do/will do somebody: · Here's £20 for the shopping -- that should do you.
► suffice formal to be enough: will/would suffice: · A doctor's certificate will suffice as a form of permission. should suffice to do something (=will probably be enough to do it): · These few examples should suffice to illustrate how social attitudes are changing.
► cover if an amount of money covers the cost of something, it is enough to pay for it: · $29.90 a month covers the cost of all your insurance.· Western aid to Third World countries barely covers the interest on their loans.
► last if an amount of food or money lasts for a period of time, there is enough of it for that period: last until: · I still have $100, but that won't last until the end of the vacation.last (somebody) 2 years/3 days etc: · A can of baby formula costing $6.00 will last you three to four days.
► meet somebody's needs if an amount of something meets someone's needs , there is as much of it as that person needs - use this especially in formal or official contexts: · In many parts of the world, there is not enough food to meet everyone's needs.
big enough, strong enough, old enough etc► enough: big/old/strong enough etc · Will that box be strong enough?enough for · The sled is big enough for three children to ride on it safely.enough to do something · The pole was just long enough to reach the top window.· Raphael is probably the only one crazy enough to try it.
► sufficiently formal enough: · I had recovered sufficiently by the end of the week to give two more speeches.sufficiently large/easy etc to do something: · I don't think the candidate is sufficiently skillful to do the job.sufficiently large/easy etc for something: · The measurements are sufficiently accurate for our purposes.
► adequately formal enough or well enough: · There are no plans to change the current system, which is performing adequately.· We're trying to encourage parents to make sure their children are adequately protected against childhood diseases.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► enough/sufficient courage
Word family· Harry plucked up enough courage to ask her out.
► enough/sufficient detail· The party was criticized for not giving sufficient detail about their proposed tax changes.
► a sufficient quantity (=enough)· How did they obtain sufficient quantities of food to survive?
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► quite· For many purposes this is quite sufficient and the values of Young's modulus obtained compare well with those from other tests.· In adult years, help from the partner never feels quite sufficient and, therefore, can not be appreciated.· He felt that his job was quite sufficient.· The light output is quite sufficient for the speeds the vehicles are capable of.· Actual punishment should only be used as a last resort; a sharp tap with a cardboard strip is quite sufficient.· Eventually it should be quite sufficient to weigh yourself once every week or two.· As for special event photography black and white will be quite sufficient.· It is quite sufficient to do a little exercise, often.
NOUN► condition· Wittgenstein argued that it is not possible to spell out necessary and sufficient conditions for an activity to be a game.· Mental and physical actions in the environment are a necessary but not sufficient condition for cognitive development.· But it is not a sufficient condition.· While effective power may be a necessary condition of political legitimacy it is not a sufficient condition.· The condition looks very similar to the sufficient condition advanced in chapter 3 and may be proved in the same way.· That the moral imperative was not a sufficient condition has already been remarked upon.· We would argue for a mild presumption that this sufficient condition is likely to be met.
► detail· The various validation aspects and approaches are covered in sufficient detail and clarity.· This should be in sufficient detail for precise identification. 2.· Burr does not give sufficient detail to enable a reasonable evaluation of its effectiveness.· Each turn is covered in sufficient detail for it to be understandable and achievable by most skiers.· Course content Any briefing given must provide sufficient detail on the new location.· Records: All transactions, transfers and expenditure should be recorded in sufficient detail for the information to be usable.· Methods used, described in sufficient detail to enable the research programme to be repeated, possibly elsewhere.· Both are treated in sufficient detail to be widely useful, with many practical examples from the authors' wide experience.
► evidence· There is sufficient evidence to indicate that students may differ markedly in the ways they set about learning.· Grand juries only determine whether sufficient evidence exists to justify an indictment.· This is the only crime for which the judges concede there is sufficient evidence.· The report investigated seven cases in detail, and in four of them said there was sufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.· The successful farmer of Luke and the story of the rich man and Lazarus are sufficient evidence of that.· If sufficient evidence is not available, progress must be reviewed to try to find a way forward.· But even with this limitation, there is sufficient evidence of the conductor's authority.· While perfect certainty that an element exists is not needed for recognition, there must be sufficient evidence that this is so.
► funds· The problem is both simple and complex: the lack of sufficient funds.· Many beneficent projects have to be foregone if sufficient funds are lacking.· And then, unless they had sufficient funds to buy several stocks, they might not be spreading their investment sufficiently.· You may find that the lender with the lowest interest rate will not advance sufficient funds.· However, critics claimed that this scheme did not provide sufficient funds to those in real need.· Leisure centres close their doors because of a lack of sufficient funds to operate them.· The number of companies which could not meet payment orders for lack of sufficient funds rose by 60 percent.· Neither profession yielded sufficient funds for his expensive lifestyle.
► information· The aim is to check that sufficient information has been gathered for each variable to make statistics upon them valid.· In any case, an irresponsible control program has been set in motion without sufficient information as to its future effects.· An inventory should contain sufficient information to enable the unequivocal identification of an object.· Without sufficient information, a selection decision should be delayed until the book has appeared.· There is not sufficient information available at this point in the parse to complete all of this rule.· Its purpose is to gather sufficient information to answer questions about magma chambers in oceanic crust.· B and K claimed that the Board should give them sufficient information to enable them to answer the case against them.· Customers must also be given sufficient information about the risks involved in a transaction adequately to assess the merits of that transaction.
► interest· Provided there is sufficient interest, tenders should also result in certainty of sale within a defined period.· Defining sufficient interest is relatively easy where one or more persons are more seriously affected by a decision than people generally.· But where a decision affects everyone in general and no one in particular it is much harder to define sufficient interest.· Friends of the Earth responded by asserting that there was sufficient interest among energy suppliers to provide three times that amount.· But the rest is certainly of sufficient interest to warrant a recording.· If sufficient interest is shown, preliminary arrangements can then be made.· Neighbours have sufficient interest to challenge planning decisions in respect of neighbouring land.· If there is sufficient interest for a return visit to either or both the nI will be pleased to arrange the day.
► money· Many of the smaller cloth mills were unable to plough sufficient money into such modernisation schemes, so fell by the wayside.· But even then the surviving directors will need sufficient money to buy the shares - at the market rate.· Make sure you have sufficient money for a month's deposit when you begin your tour of inspection. 8.
► number· Unless women can stop feeling apologetic about wanting power, they will never be in sufficient numbers to change the male agenda.· And is there no implied intention, then, to rest satisfied with some final body or sufficient number of facts?· The exception are aristocrats, who are served by a sufficient number of other people to be freed of this daily burden.· Sending out a sufficient number of Bracewell-style probes would be prohibitively expensive.· There is already evidence to show knitwear firms are failing to attract sufficient numbers of young people.· Consequently, odours may amount to a public nuisance if they substantially inconvenience a sufficient number of people.· There are cases in which prosecutions failed because the nuisance did not interfere with a sufficient number of the public.
► numbers· Unless women can stop feeling apologetic about wanting power, they will never be in sufficient numbers to change the male agenda.· I would suggest that it is highly unlikely that sufficient numbers of Timbury type continuing care units will be provided.· There are not sufficient numbers of lockers to allow one per person.· There is already evidence to show knitwear firms are failing to attract sufficient numbers of young people.· One hopes they come forward in sufficient numbers to make such an item available to all ecologically minded funeral-arrangers before too long.· It contributes to the syndrome of parasitic gastroenteritis and only occasionally occurs in sufficient numbers to cause clinical disease on its own.· Perhaps the crocodiles, through their speed, were able to kill sufficient numbers of smaller animals to survive the winter.
► quantity· However the market will not provide a sufficient quantity of public goods.· Money alone and in sufficient quantities can qualify virtually any measure for the ballot.· The resources, whether material or human, are not there in anything like sufficient quantities, it is said.· The proposal is reproduced in sufficient quantities and is received by the granting organization.· During the Second World War the whole economic effort centred on supplying and employing sufficient quantities of labour and materials.· There either are such people in sufficient quantities or there are not.· Make sure lettuce is available all the time and in sufficient quantity.· In which case, it is impossible to see how the plesiosaurs could obtain sufficient quantities of food to survive.
► reason· There are exceptions, but the fact that information is held in confidence is not as such a sufficient reason for exemption.· Local patrols had sufficient reason to be assiduous in their duties.· All the early aircraft had very low wing loadings for sufficient reasons.· But is this sufficient reason to continue using thalidomide?· But the person with sufficient reason for his faith can avoid the otherwise powerful down-tow toward nonsense and absurdity.· The theory challenges the assumption of orthodox welfare economics that the existence of market failure is sufficient reason for governmental intervention.· Nearly two weeks later the police admitted that this was not sufficient reason for refusing bail.
► support· The five other parties contesting the election failed to secure sufficient support to gain representation.· But it appears to lack sufficient support.· You must make your own arrangements to ensure sufficient support.· Compromise proposals to leave the government ministries in Bonn but move the Bundestag to Berlin failed to find sufficient support.· I do not find in this decision a sufficient support for the wide proposition for which Mr. Collins contends.· Elections were to be contested up to the level of Dáil Éireann when the movement had built up sufficient support.· He decided to resign, not as a tactical manoeuvre, but because he did not have sufficient support to carry on.· On June 27 the liberal opposition failed to win sufficient support to set up a parliamentary inquiry.
► time· In order to study effectively you need to be organised and to put sufficient time aside to learn and to reflect.· When the consultant arrives for interviews, is he or she greeted warmly and given sufficient time for discussion?· Give yourself sufficient time to get really stuck into your subject-matter.· Customers needed to receive catalogs in sufficient time to take advantage of these offers.· To stretch properly you need to be warm, and to give yourself sufficient time.· For example, is there sufficient time set aside for the collection of data?· Given sufficient time with other things remaining unchanged, prices and wages would eventually be adjusted and full employment may be restored.· Numerous options are available, but you must allow sufficient time for the transfer.
► understanding· The Children Act places great emphasis on the child's right to make decisions where he has sufficient understanding to do so.· Where the child has sufficient understanding the court may want to know his or her likely response to the proposed direction.· If the child is of sufficient understanding his views should not simply be disregarded because it is difficult to ascertain them.· At field level, this implies a sufficient understanding of the contribution which different parties can make.· A child with sufficient understanding to give instructions may select his own solicitor.· It is a matter of fact in each case whether a child has sufficient understanding to make certain decisions or take certain actions.· The House of Lords ruled that she could, provided she had sufficient understanding.· This was intended to help elderly people no longer fully capable, but still with sufficient understanding to create the power.
WORD FAMILYnounsufficiencyadjectivesufficient ≠ insufficientverbsufficeadverbsufficiently ≠ insufficiently
as much as is needed for a particular purpose SYN enough OPP insufficient: We can only prosecute if there is sufficient evidence. Unauthorized absence is sufficient reason for dismissal. We need sufficient time to deal with the problem.sufficient to do something The money is not sufficient to cover everything that needs doing.sufficient for The recipe is sufficient for six people.► see thesaurus at enough—sufficiently adverb: Students must reach a sufficiently high standard to pass.