well enough

well enough — 慣用語

1. in a way that gives you what you need for a particular purpose, even if the resu

1.慣用語B1
釋義

夠好；尚可

達到基本需求，但不完美

in a way that gives you what you need for a particular purpose, even if the result is not perfect.

例句

Chiara knows the neighbourhood well enough to find her way around without a map.

Chiara 對這附近夠熟悉，不用地圖也能找到路。

This old bicycle works well enough to get me to school and back every day.

這輛舊腳踏車還能騎，每天載我去上學再回家沒問題。

well enough + infinitive for expressing sufficiency for a goal

同義詞
  • adequately

    more formal; common in official or professional writing

  • sufficiently

    emphasises meeting a specific standard or requirement

  • satisfactorily

    formal; used when something meets expectations

反義詞
  • poorly

    suggests the opposite of satisfactory performance

用法筆記

Often followed by an infinitive (to + verb) that states the purpose or goal the sufficiency relates to.

常見錯誤

❌I know her good enough to trust her.
✅I know her well enough to trust her.
💡'well' is the adverb form of 'good'; 'good' is an adjective and cannot modify a verb.

2. a state of affairs that is acceptable as it currently is, used especially when a

2.慣用語B2
釋義

現狀尚可

目前情況已可接受，不宜更改

a state of affairs that is acceptable as it currently is, used especially when advising someone not to make changes that could cause problems; most often found in the fixed expression 'leave (or let) well enough alone'.

例句

The garden is not perfect, but I think we should leave well enough alone and enjoy it as it is.

花園並不完美，但我覺得保持現狀就好，好好享受它吧。

"leave well enough alone" — fixed expression for not interfering

The patient's condition was stable, so Dr. Okafor agreed to leave well enough alone.

病人狀況穩定，因此 Okafor 醫生同意維持現狀。

同義詞
  • status quo

    more formal; a neutral term for the current state

  • current state

    literal and neutral; lacks the cautionary tone of the idiom

反義詞

文法句型

leave + well enough + alone

let + well enough + alone

用法筆記

This sense almost never appears outside the fixed phrases 'leave well enough alone' and 'let well enough alone'. The latter is more common in British English. Distinguish from sense 1: here 'well enough' is a noun phrase (the object of 'leave'), not an adverb modifying the verb.

常見錯誤

❌I think you should leave it enough well alone.
✅I think you should leave well enough alone.
💡The word order is fixed; do not rearrange the phrase.
❌The computer works well enough, so I'll let well enough to be alone.
✅The computer works well enough, so I'll let well enough alone.
💡The expression is 'let well enough alone' (without 'to be').