One of various things that we like to do on this blog is consider the many different ways we express the same thing in English. (Of course, we are rarely expressing exactly the same thing and it’s the differences – sometimes very subtle – that make language interesting.) In today’s post, I’m looking at words and phrases we use to convey the basic meaning of ‘enough’.
Let’s start with the adjectives adequate and sufficient, both of which are used to mean ‘enough for a particular purpose’. The opposites of these adjectives are formed with the prefix in-:
There isn’t sufficient evidence to prove this claim.
Unfortunately, the masks provided inadequate protection.
Insufficient staffing had caused a number of safety issues.
Sometimes, we want to say that there is a large amount or number of something that is more than enough. We have the word plenty for this. It is used both as a quantifier followed by of and a pronoun:
There’s plenty of room for everyone. / There are plenty of opportunities.
Twenty pounds spending money should be plenty for the week.
Another nice way of saying ‘more than enough’ is the adjective ample:
There will be ample time for questions after the session. / There’s ample food for everyone.
A rather formal way of saying that something is enough is to say that it will or should suffice:
70 grams of rice per person should suffice.
The phrase that will do is used in conversation to mean that there is enough of something and no more is needed:
“I’ve put fifty chairs in the hall – do you need any more?” “No, I think that will do, thanks.”
The context for this next phrase is very specific! If you are pouring a drink for someone and you want them to tell you when you have poured enough, you can use the expression say when:
And a glass of white wine for you, Sara. Say when.
Of course, few blog posts are complete without a phrasal verb or two, so here are two nice ones in this area. If there is enough of something to go round, there is enough for everyone in a group of people:
Are there enough hand-outs to go round? / With fifty people present, there wasn’t enough food to go round.
Meanwhile, if a supply of something such as food or money holds out, especially in difficult circ*mstances, there is enough of it to last for a period of time:
Our food supplies won’t hold out for much longer.
I hope this post provides plenty of ways of saying ‘enough’! My next post will look at words and phrases for saying that there is too little or there are too few of something.
Some common synonyms of sparse are meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, and spare. While all these words mean "falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable," sparse implies a thin scattering of units.
Enough is an adjective that describes something that is adequate for an intended purpose. Enough is also used as an adverb to mean sufficiently or fully. Enough also has senses as a pronoun and an interjection. Enough describes something as being adequate or sufficient.
As its Word of the Year for 2023, the Cambridge Dictionary picked the term "Hallucinate". The word is not crowned with the position for no reason. In fact, with emerging AI technology in the present times, the word "hallucination" is chosen as the Word of the Year 2023 for a special reason.
We normally only use enough of when it is followed by a determiner or a pronoun (a/an/the, this/that, my/your/his, you/them, etc.). There isn't enough of that bread to make sandwiches for everyone. I've seen enough of his work to be able to recommend him. There's enough of us to make a difference.
Some common synonyms of enough are adequate, competent, and sufficient. While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," enough is less exact in suggestion than sufficient. do you have enough food?
Enough as an adjective. However it can only be used as an attributive adjective (one that stands before the noun it qualifies); it cannot be used as a predicative adjective (after the verb to be or similar verbs).
What does rizz mean? Under Oxford's definition, it's a noun that means style, charm, attractiveness or the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.
The Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries have long been considered as the two most credible and trustworthy for British English. In terms of popularity, the Oxford dictionary is the more popular of the two in the UK and is generally cited as the ultimate authority on the language.
Oligo- (prefix): Means just a few or scanty. From the Greek "oligos', few, scanty. Examples of terms starting with oligo- include oligodactyly (few fingers), oligohydramnios (too little amniotic fluid) and oligospermia (too few sperm).
scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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