effectively
Americanadverb
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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
Derived 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.
The legal dispute over the Kennedy Center may continue, but the physical rebranding effort that sparked months of controversy had effectively disappeared before most Washington residents woke up Saturday morning.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
Russell told the BBC: "I think it's enough to say that we found that in the first year of implementing the production of children measures, Ofcom the regulator have effectively achieved nothing much at all."
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Next week, it becomes eligible for speedy inclusion on a few major indexes, which will effectively force passive funds to buy its shares.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
If he’d had his way, it would have rendered holding companies effectively illegal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
The horses slowed to the slowest walk as the path became a stream, and the heavy rain cut off all vision as effectively as the thickest fog.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
