Sufficient vs Required - What's the difference?
sufficient | required |
Equal to the end proposed; adequate to wants; enough; ample; competent; as,
Possessing adequate talents or accomplishments; of competent power or ability; qualified; fit.
(archaic) Capable of meeting obligations; responsible.
* 1668 , (Samuel Pepys), December 23 1668
self-sufficient; self-satisfied; content.
The smallest amount needed.
(require)
(label) To ask (someone) for something; to request.
*, Bk.XI:
*:I requyre yow lete vs be sworne to gyders that neuer none of vs shalle after this day haue adoo with other, and there with alle syre Tristram and sire Lamorak sware that neuer none of hem shold fyghte ageynst other nor for wele, nor for woo.
*1526 , Bible , tr. William Tyndale, Mark V:
*:I requyre the in the name of god, that thou torment me nott.
To demand, to insist upon (having); to call for authoritatively.
*1998 , Joan Wolf, The Gamble , Warner Books:
*:"I am Miss Newbury," I announced, "and I require to be shown to my room immediately, if you please."
*2009 , Vikram Dodd, The Guardian , 29 December:
*:‘Regrettably, I have concluded, after considering the matter over Christmas, that I can no longer maintain the high standard of service I require of myself, meet the demands of office and cope with the pressures of public life, without my health deteriorating further.’
Naturally to demand (something) as indispensable; to need, to call for as necessary.
*1972 , "Aid for Aching Heads", Time , 5 June:
*:Chronic pain is occasionally a sign of a very serious problem, like brain tumors, and can require surgery.
*2009 , Julian Borger, The Guardian , 7 February:
*:A weapon small enough to put on a missile would require uranium enriched to more than 90% U-235.
To demand of (someone) to do something.
*1970 , "Compulsory Midi", Time , 29 June:
*:After Aug 3 all salesgirls will be required to wear only one style of skirt while on duty: the midi.
*2007 , Allegra Stratton, "Smith to ban non-EU unskilled immigrants from working in UK", The Guardian , 5 December:
*:The government would like to require non-British fiances who wish to marry a British citizen to sit an English test.
As an adjective sufficient
is equal to the end proposed; adequate to wants; enough; ample; competent; as,.As a determiner sufficient
is the smallest amount needed.As a verb required is
(require).sufficient
English
(Webster 1913)Adjective
(en adjective)- We have provision sufficient for the family
- This army is sufficient to defend the country.
- There is not sufficient access to the internet in the some small country villages.
- A two-week training course is sufficient to get a job in the coach-driving profession.
- ...to take the best ways we can, to make it known to the Duke of York; for, till Sir J. Minnes be removed, and a sufficient man brought into W. Pen's place, when he is gone, it is impossible for this Office ever to support itself.
Derived terms
* self-sufficient * sufficiency * sufficientlySee also
* adequate * ample * enough * plentyDeterminer
(en determiner)- Sufficient of us are against this idea that we should stop now.