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.
Patriarch Kirill’s new book raises another ecumenical question, whether ecumenical dialogue between Roman Catholicism and Russian Orthodoxy is effectively over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Evolution has effectively run the same experiment over and over again across different groups of arthropods," says R. Antonio Gomez, postdoctoral scholar in A&S' Department of Biology and lead author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
During the Edward Snowden leak in 2013, he was effectively the public face of the intelligence community defending against Snowden’s revelations.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
"So effectively, it's like your body is still stuck in the timezone of where you've just flown from."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But this twist effectively marks the birth of a new philosophy of science: a scientific principle is now an hypothesis that has survived the test of experience.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
