Adequate and Mean

Adequate

Adequate adjective - Of a level of quality that meets one's needs or standards.
Usage example: this old computer is probably adequate if you just want to type a term paper

Mean is an antonym for adequate.

Nearby Words: adequately, adequacy, adequation

Mean

Mean adjective - Of little or less value or merit.
Usage example: it's no mean feat to memorize that long poem

Adequate is an antonym for mean.

Nearby Words: means, meaning, meanness, meant, meanly

Both words in one sentence

  • Western Animation / As Told by Ginger Grimley gets her house TP'd, she doesn't get any adequate punishment for being a mean-spirited teacher to the students, and Ginger ends up in detention instead.
Cite this Source
Mean and Adequate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/adequate/mean
Adequate & Mean. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/adequate/mean>.
Mean or Adequate. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/adequate/mean.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "adequate" and "mean" have occurred on timeline