effectiveness
Americannoun
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the quality of producing an intended or desired result.
For maximum effectiveness of your weight loss plan, you need to combine exercise with a healthy diet.
-
the quality of producing a deep or vivid impression.
We were struck by the evident appeal and effectiveness of these short, dramatic, upbeat video stories.
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a measure of the success of a vaccine or other pharmaceutical when used in the real world, as opposed to the controlled environment of a clinical trial.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of effectiveness
First recorded in 1600–10; effective ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing effectiveness
Reading: Informational - Middle School
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Media Literacy - High School
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Media Literacy - Middle School
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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.
But film industry advocates say the corporate tax credit cap will hurt film producers and undercut the effectiveness of the state’s expanded film and TV tax credits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Many of the diet’s principles are surprisingly simple, which could explain its enduring popularity and effectiveness and why nutrition experts often describe it as an eating pattern rather than a diet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
It said the reforms were intended to improve the effectiveness of sentencing and the management of offenders in the community.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Researchers therefore want to use as little platinum as possible without reducing the catalyst's effectiveness during energy conversion and storage.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
It is the cost of that kind of technology, and its relative effectiveness, that must be compared with the cost and effectiveness of the vaccine.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
