effectively
Americanadverb
-
in a way that accomplishes a purpose or produces the intended or expected results.
These scissors are no longer sharp and do not cut effectively.
You may not like all your coworkers, but you still have to learn to work effectively with them.
-
in actuality; in practice.
Allowing the legislature to take existing money for schools and use it for other purposes effectively means there will be no new money for education.
-
in a way that produces a vivid impression; strikingly.
The visually rich photographs are effectively displayed against the stark white gallery walls.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of effectively
Explanation
Effectively is an adverb with two meanings; use it if you want to describe something that's done in an effective manner or as a replacement for words like "actually" or "basically." If wearing special gloves helps you catch a football more effectively, then it helps you get the job done better and more efficiently. People usually want to do their jobs more effectively. But this word can also mean actually or basically. If your grandparents are raising you, they are effectively your parents, and you are effectively their children. Whether they're raising you effectively in the first sense is another matter.
Vocabulary lists containing effectively
Inside: Academic Vocabulary
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4.3: Origins and Impact of the Western European Empires in the North Atlantic (Sources 1–9)
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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.
Effectively none of the company’s seat growth this year will be in the main cabin, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
Effectively a new mini-tournament now begins, with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand to face.
From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026
Effectively there is little difference nutritionally between ice cream and gelato.
From Salon • Dec. 2, 2024
Effectively all of Liverpool's players are in form - and all of City's players are out of it.
From BBC • Nov. 30, 2024
Effectively quoted from speeches made by him at other times, insisting upon relief of the rate so heavily burdoned as to make it impossible to carry out social reforms of imperative necessity.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, July 1, 1914 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
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.
