English Dictionary

SUFFICE

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does suffice mean? 

SUFFICE (verb)
  The verb SUFFICE has 1 sense:

1. be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantityplay

  Familiarity information: SUFFICE used as a verb is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


SUFFICE (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they suffice  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it suffices  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: sufficed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: sufficed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: sufficing  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

answer; do; serve; suffice

Context example:

Nothing else will serve

Hypernyms (to "suffice" is one way to...):

fulfil; fulfill; live up to; satisfy (meet the requirements or expectations of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suffice"):

bridge over; keep going; tide over (suffice for a period between two points)

go a long way (suffice or be adequate for a while or to a certain extent)

function; serve (serve a purpose, role, or function)

measure up; qualify (prove capable or fit; meet requirements)

go around (be sufficient)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
It ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

sufficiency (the quality of being sufficient for the end in view)

sufficiency (an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose)

sufficiency (sufficient resources to provide comfort and meet obligations)

sufficient (of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant)


 Context examples 


Another meeting will suffice to explain his sentiments on picturesque beauty, and second marriages, and then you can have nothing farther to ask.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

She is mine—I am hers—this present life and passing world suffice to me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Any room in this house might suffice.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Some general indications will therefore suffice.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Nay, but this will scarce suffice,” cried the shipman.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A moment sufficed to convince her that something extraordinary had happened.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

You have work, much work, to do for her and for others; and the present will suffice.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A small taper on the edge of the table shed a feeble light which sufficed to show me that he was fully dressed.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A few minutes sufficed to finish the loading, and I lowered the boat into the water.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Uranus rules all things that happen that you’d never expect, so suffice to say, simmer any new relationship on low until you know one another better.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Grow where you are planted." (English proverb)

"What the people believe is true." (Native American proverb, Anishinabe)

"If patience is sour then its result is sweet." (Arabic proverb)

"The pen is mightier than the sword." (Dutch proverb)



ALSO IN ENGLISH DICTIONARY:


© 2000-2023 AudioEnglish.org | AudioEnglish® is a Registered Trademark | Terms of use and privacy policy
Contact