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.
Together, these findings suggest that lingering taste problems after COVID-19 may involve multiple biological disruptions, affecting both the way taste cells are organized and how effectively they transmit information.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
Some brands also promise that strips, compared to pills or other formats, can improve a dietary supplement’s bioavailability—or how much of a substance is effectively used by the body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
"I will reconvene this plenary session at the earliest opportunity so the panel can effectively conclude its business," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
He would effectively be receiving housing benefit for people who he was not accommodating or supporting.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The “departure” that Blatch, other suffragist leaders, and particularly Alice Paul came up with was picketing, a tactic that Blatch and Paul had seen used effectively when they had aided British suffragists.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
