suh-FISH-uhn-see
/səˈfɪʃənsi/
sufficiency is pronounced suh-FISH-uhn-see (/səˈfɪʃənsi/). Sufficiency refers to having enough or adequate amount or quality to meet a need. It emphasizes adequacy rather than excess, often implying a threshold that suffices for a purpose. The term is commonly used in formal or technical contexts such as policy, economics, and statistics to denote adequacy rather than optimality.
Sufficiency refers to having enough or adequate amount or quality to meet a need. It emphasizes adequacy rather than excess, often implying a threshold that suffices for a purpose. The term is commonly used in formal or technical contexts such as policy, economics, and statistics to denote adequacy rather than optimality.
"The sufficiency of the data supports the conclusion."
"There is sufficiency of funds to complete the project as planned."
"Her sufficiency in reasoning allowed her to present a solid argument."
US: /ˌsəˈfɪʃənsi/; UK/Global: /ˌsəˈfɪʃənsi/. The main stress is on the second syllable: suh-FISH-ən-see. Start with a neutral schwa in the first syllable, then a clear /ɪ/ in the second, followed by /ʃən/ (a relaxed /ʃ/ plus a soft /ən/), and finish with /si/. Mouth: keep the jaw relaxed, lips slightly spread for the /ɪ/ and /i/; avoid tensing the tongue at the /fɪ/ transition. Listen for the natural rise in pitch toward the stress peak and a crisp final /si/.
Common errors: (1) Over-pronouncing the first syllable, producing a strong “SUF-fish-” rather than a light /sə/; (2) Misplacing the stress on the first or last syllable; ensure main stress is on the second syllable: suh-FISH-ən-see; (3) Reducing the final -ity to a sharp /ti/ or slurring the -ən-; keep /ən/ as a schwa-linked syllable before the final /si/. Correct by practicing the full sequence slowly: /səˈfɪʃənsi/ and recording to check the light initial vowel, steady second-stress, and clear final /si/.
US/UK/AU share the main stress on the second syllable: /ˌsəˈfɪʃənsi/. US tends toward a slightly rhotic quality and a shortened /ɪ/ in the first stressed vowel, while UK can place a tad more clarity on /ɪ/ and a crisp /ʃ/; Australian often has a broader, flatter /ə/ in the first syllable and slightly more vowel space in the final -i. The -si ending remains /si/ in all accents. Overall rhythm and vowel height are the main differences, not the core phonemes.
Key challenges are: (a) the light, reduced first syllable /sə/ and preventing it from sounding like /su/; (b) the strong, mid-to-high front vowel /ɪ/ in the second syllable and keeping it distinct from /i/ in -si; (c) linking the /ən/ to the final /si/ without a noticeable pause, which can flatten the rhythm if rushed. Practice saying /səˈfɪʃənsi/ slowly, focusing on a quick but smooth /ən/ bridge to /si/, then speed up while maintaining the same articulatory points.
There are no silent letters in sufficiency. All letters contribute to the pronunciation: s-u-f-f-i-c-i-e-n-c-y. The vowels alternate in stress and phonation, and the sequence /səˈfɪʃənsi/ uses each segment actively. The only subtlety is the unstressed schwa in the first syllable; it’s not silent, it’s reduced. Maintaining audible, though subtle, vowel sound in the first syllable helps prevent truncation.
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Sufficiency comes from the Middle English suffisance, borrowed from Old French suffisance, which itself derives from Latin sufficiens, present participle of sufficere, meaning “to suffice.” The Latin root sub- ‘under, up to’ combines with facere ‘to do, to make,’ conveying the sense of “to be adequate.” In English, suffice appeared in the 14th century with related forms sufficed and sufficient, but sufficiency developed later to name the state or condition of being sufficient. The term’s semantic trajectory moved from concrete sufficiency in resources to a more abstract standard of adequacy in arguments, policies, or criteria. By the 18th–19th centuries, sufficiency gained prominence in philosophical and political discourse, particularly in statements about evidence, funds, or capacity meeting required thresholds. Today, sufficiency is frequently used in technical fields (statistics, economics, legal) to denote an acceptable level of adequacy, not more than is necessary, and is often contrasted with sufficiency in probability theory (the concept of being a sufficient statistic) though etymologically linked through the root suffic- meaning “to be enough.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "sufficiency" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "sufficiency"
-ity sounds
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