effectiveness
Americannoun
-
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.
They depend on decades-old Soviet-era equipment, while fuel shortages imperil their effectiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said it would "periodically review" its effectiveness "to ensure that it is fit for purpose".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
We didn’t need to test the effectiveness of symptom relief.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
“Although law enforcement strives for 100% effectiveness with every tactic or tool used during confrontations, that’s not always the case,” Lt.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
The psychologist Nalini Ambady once gave students three ten-second videotapes of a teacher—with the sound turned off—and found they had no difficulty at all coming up with a rating of the teacher’s effectiveness.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
