actively
Americanadverb
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in a way that involves deliberate and vigorous engagement or effort.
Our search for your missing son has not slowed and there are important leads being actively pursued even at this moment.
Latin America is here—actively present in U.S. history, culture, and politics.
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with a high degree of volume, use, participation, etc..
Crude oil is the world's most actively traded commodity.
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in a way that is operative or effective at the time; currently.
On any given day, roughly 20 volcanoes are actively erupting.
Well over a million people are actively subscribed and learning languages with the app worldwide.
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in a way that involves physical exercise or movement.
Every volunteer role at the day center is helpful in enabling seniors to live actively, independently, and with dignity.
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Grammar. in or by means of the active voice, where the subject of the verb is also the doer of the action.
Anything expressed with a passive verb could also be expressed actively, so the choice of one over the other is often for stylistic effect.
Other Word Forms
- preactively adverb
- quasi-actively adverb
- semiactively adverb
- superactively adverb
Etymology
Origin of actively
Explanation
Anything described by the adverb actively is happening right now or because of a conscious effort, or a little of both. You probably won’t find a job unless you’re actively looking. If you’re actively doing something, you’re involved in it now. People who actively look for a fight usually find one. If the President is actively involved in peace talks, he’s getting involved in them personally. If you’ve written a perfect sonnet, it’s not going to get published until you actively try to find a place for it. The opposite of actively is passively.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Families were actively seeking alternatives to their district school, but the options weren’t there.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
"These arrears have impacted the ILO's cash flow, and we are actively engaging with the concerned countries to encourage the earliest possible settlement," it added.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
Others point to reports about his injuries and question whether he is able to actively manage the system at all.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
This is an opportune time for individual investors to reallocate part of their holdings to actively managed mutual funds, which may be better equipped to navigate current market conditions and potentially outperform their benchmarks.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
Leukocytes become more actively phagocytic, release lysosomal enzymes, turn sticky, and aggregate together in dense masses, occluding capillaries and shutting off the blood supply.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
