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.
“We are in a moment of global instability and precarity that limits the effectiveness of national state action,” said Diane E. Davis, a Harvard University professor who has studied sovereignty in Latin America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Larger, carefully designed studies will be needed to clarify the effectiveness of phage therapy and identify which patients are most likely to benefit.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
"There's no-one in his class or effectiveness, or anywhere near it."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
She’s also planning to be hands-on manager, using data to assess the city’s effectiveness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
To anyone who questioned the effectiveness of the loyalty oaths, he replied that people who really did owe allegiance to their country would be proud to pledge it as often as he forced them to.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
