actively

American

[ak-tiv-lee] / ˈæk tɪv li /

adverb

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.
with a high degree of volume, use, participation, etc..

Crude oil is the world's most actively traded commodity.
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.
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.
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

active + -ly

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach acknowledged the network wasn’t actively developing a replacement late-night show; instead the effort was in the brainstorming stage.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Anthropic has also been actively signing more compute deals to service growing demand for its products.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Dimensional Fund Advisors, which advocates passive investing, studied actively managed stock mutual funds between 1991 and 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Across the country we will see some people actively voting for their party of choice, while others vote to stop the party they loathe most.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Soon she had water boiling actively in a three-legged pot.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023