enough
Sufficiently.
Adverb
- Sufficiently.
- Those pears aren't ripe enough for the children to eat (them).
- You've worked enough; rest for a bit.
- We don't have long enough nails.
- Fully; quite; used after adjectives to express slight augmentation of the positive degree, and sometimes equivalent to very.
- He is ready enough to accept the offer.
- I know you well enough; you are Signior Antonio. - 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
- “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to...
- Used after certain adverbs to emphasise that a quality is notable, unexpected, etc.
- Talking of Mr Smith, funnily enough, I saw him just the other day.
- I left my camera on the train, but luckily enough someone handed it in to lost property.
Origin
From Middle English ynogh, from Old English ġenōg (“enough”), from Proto-Germanic *ganōgaz (“enough”) (compare Scots eneuch, West Frisian genôch, Dutch genoeg, German genug, Low German (ge)noog, Danish nok, Swedish nog, Icelandic nógur), from *ganuganą 'to suffice' (compare Old English ġeneah), or from *ga- + an unattested *nōgaz, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂nó(n)ḱe (“he has reached, attained”), perfective of *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”) (compare Old Irish tánaic (“he arrived”), Latin nancisci (“to get”), Albanian kënaq (“to please, satisfy”)).
Forms
Determiner
- Sufficient; all that is required, needed, or appropriate.
- I've already had enough coffee today.
-
Used before a noun in the manner of words like some, a bit of, and so on.
-
(archaic) Used after a noun.
- There is food enough for us all.
- How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare! - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 15:17:
- But it wasn’t ransom enough. His captors accepted it all, But didn’t let go of the king. - 1936, Robert Frost, “The Vindictives”, in A Further Range:
Forms
Interjection
- Stop! Don't do that any more! It is too much!
- Near-synonyms: please, cut it out, knock it off, shut up, STFU
- I'm sick of you complaining! Enough!
Synonyms: that's enough enough already no more basta please cut it out knock it off shut up STFU
Forms
Noun
- An instance of being sufficient, or of doing something sufficiently.
- And she was neither beautiful nor handsome, but just at the point halfway between which a girl of twenty-three reaches who inherits good features and healthful figure, and who has learned to dance well, ride well, study...
Forms
Derived
big and ugly enough big enough and ugly enough can't get enough close enough close enough for government work close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey crazy enough to work enough already enough is as good as a feast enough is enough enough is too much enoughly enoughness enough said enough sense to pound sand into a rathole enough to choke a horse enough to choke a snake enough to go around enough to make a cat laugh enough to make the angels weep enough to put in one's eye fair enough getting enough
Pronoun
- A sufficient or adequate number, amount, etc.
- I have enough (of it) to keep me going.
- Enough of you are here to begin the class.
- Get some more plates. There aren’t enough yet.