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.
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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 despite its effectiveness in eliminating polio, the live virus occasionally mutated back into its pathogenic form, resulting in rare cases of vaccine-related polio—something that Sabin refused to acknowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026
The remaining major hurdle is for uniQure and the FDA to agree on the design of a final backup study to confirm the drug’s effectiveness.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The effectiveness is open to debate with coaches having a three-minute hydration break in each half as a natural timeout.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The researchers tested whether disabling DNA repair in this way could improve the effectiveness of existing therapies.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
The effectiveness of machine guns as defensive weapons kept both sides from achieving a breakthrough and helped prolong the deadlock of trench warfare that immobilized the Western Front.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
