That Is Very Much Adequate
Also known as: Very Much Adequate
"That Is Very Much Adequate" is a TikTok catchphrase and soundbite that went viral in January 2020. Originally spoken by user @smokinhottballz during a "Which Cat Are You" filter reaction video, the audio clip spread rapidly across TikTok through lip-sync memes, especially in jokes about laziness, low effort, and settling for "good enough."
Overview
The meme centers on a short audio clip where a TikTok user reacts to a randomized "Which Cat Are You?" personality quiz result by laughing and declaring "That is very much adequate"1. The phrase caught on because of its oddly formal, understated tone. Rather than saying something was great or terrible, the speaker settled on "adequate," delivered with a casual laugh that made the whole thing feel like an inside joke. TikTokers latched onto the soundbite for lip-sync videos, typically pairing it with situations where someone accepts a mediocre or bare-minimum outcome. The phrase broadly means something is satisfactory or passably acceptable by normal standards3.
On January 5th, 2020, TikTok user @smokinhottballz posted a video using the "Which Cat Are You?" randomizer meme1. After the filter landed on a result, the user laughed and said "That is very much adequate." The post picked up serious traction, accumulating over 474,000 likes and more than 10,000 comments within three weeks1. The combination of the user's relaxed delivery and the slightly absurd formality of calling a random cat quiz result "adequate" gave the clip a distinctive comedic tone that made it ripe for reuse.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
The format typically works like this:
Set up a visual scenario showing a low-effort or "just barely acceptable" situation (messy room, terrible cooking, minimal work on a school project, etc.)
Use the original @smokinhottballz audio as the soundtrack
Lip-sync or react to the punchline "That is very much adequate" at the moment the mediocre result is revealed
Fun Facts
The original video was a simple reaction to a cat personality quiz filter, not an intentionally crafted meme.
The biggest individual post using the sound, by @_mmallach123, hit nearly a million likes in just seven days.
The phrase functions as a kind of deadpan understatement humor, where "adequate" becomes funnier the worse the situation it describes.
The entire lifecycle from origin to peak happened within roughly two weeks in January 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
References (3)
- 1Memeticsencyclopedia
- 2
- 3That Is Very Much Adequate - Know Your Memeencyclopedia