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.
The effectiveness of the measure is open to debate, as the three-minute hydration breaks in each half created a natural opportunity for a team talk.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Unlike the other peptides, there are some studies assessing its clinical effectiveness; however, they were all conducted in the ’80s and ’90s, and the FDA described the results as “inconclusive and at best preliminary.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
As bacteria evolve, drugs that once worked reliably can lose their effectiveness.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
The EU said AliExpress' "overestimated the effectiveness of its system in detecting and removing illegal products".
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
The effectiveness of this levy is beyond any doubt: Appian reports that Ptolemy II Philadelphus had at his disposal as many as 200,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry, 300 elephants, and a fleet of 1,500 triremes.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
