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
- subeffectiveness noun
- supereffectiveness noun
- uneffectiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of effectiveness
First recorded in 1600–10; effective ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )
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 trend continued into the 1990s, with the likes of Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and John Smoltz deploying it with deadly effectiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
By combining results across all of these studies using a network meta-analysis, the researchers were able to rank each treatment based on its effectiveness.
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
Despite doubts about their effectiveness, Minicircle’s gene therapy and others like it are available at an increasing number of clinics across the world.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
How he overcame his only moment of real peril underlined the effectiveness of his serve.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
Dust storms reduce the effectiveness of solar cells.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
