What context can I use each word in?
Learn when and how to use these words with these examples!
plenty
Example
There's plenty of food for everyone at the party. [plenty: noun]
Example
She has plenty of time to finish her work before the deadline. [plenty: pronoun]
Example
The garden is full of plenty of flowers and plants. [plenty: adjective]
sufficiency
Example
I have a sufficiency of money to pay my bills this month. [sufficiency: noun]
Example
The hotel room had a sufficiency of towels and toiletries. [sufficiency: noun]
Example
She found the sufficiency of information she needed in the book. [sufficiency: noun]
Good things to know
Which word is more common?
Plenty is more common than sufficiency in everyday language. Plenty is versatile and covers a wide range of contexts, while sufficiency is more formal and less commonly used.
What’s the difference in the tone of formality between plenty and sufficiency?
Sufficiency is more formal than plenty. It is often used in academic or technical writing, legal documents, or formal speeches. Plenty is more casual and can be used in both formal and informal contexts.