suffice

English

Etymology

From Middle English suffisen, from Middle French souffire, from Latin sufficiō (“supply, be adequate”), from sub (“under”) + faciō (“do, make”). Cognate with French suffire.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /səˈfaɪs/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /səˈfaɪz/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -aɪs

Verb

suffice (third-person singular simple present suffices, present participle sufficing, simple past and past participle sufficed)

1. (intransitive) To be enough or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be adequate; to be good enough.

   For this plum cake, two eggs should suffice.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:

     To recount almighty works, / What words or tongue of seraph can suffice?

2. (transitive) To satisfy; to content; to be equal to the wants or demands of.

   A joint of lamb sufficed even his enormous appetite.

   • 1838, The Church of England quarterly review, page 203:

     Lord Brougham's salary would have sufficed more than ninety Prussian judges.

3. To furnish; to supply adequately.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Usage notes

• Commonly used in the phrases suffice to say or suffice it to say.
• Mostly used in modal verb constructions, such as: Half a loaf per day will/should suffice. This is much more common than the direct form Half a loaf per day suffices.

Synonyms

• (be enough) work, do

Related terms

• satisfice
• sufficient

Translations

References

Further reading

• “suffice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “suffice”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “suffice”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Cuffies, cuffies

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsuf.fi.ke/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsuf.fi.t͡ʃe/,

Verb

suffice

1. second-person singular present active imperative of sufficiō