effectively
Americanadverb
-
in a way that accomplishes a purpose or produces the intended or expected results.
These scissors are no longer sharp and do not cut effectively.
You may not like all your coworkers, but you still have to learn to work effectively with them.
-
in actuality; in practice.
Allowing the legislature to take existing money for schools and use it for other purposes effectively means there will be no new money for education.
-
in a way that produces a vivid impression; strikingly.
The visually rich photographs are effectively displayed against the stark white gallery walls.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of effectively
Explanation
Effectively is an adverb with two meanings; use it if you want to describe something that's done in an effective manner or as a replacement for words like "actually" or "basically." If wearing special gloves helps you catch a football more effectively, then it helps you get the job done better and more efficiently. People usually want to do their jobs more effectively. But this word can also mean actually or basically. If your grandparents are raising you, they are effectively your parents, and you are effectively their children. Whether they're raising you effectively in the first sense is another matter.
Vocabulary lists containing effectively
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4.3: Origins and Impact of the Western European Empires in the North Atlantic (Sources 1–9)
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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 measure had odds stacked against it, with two other propositions on the ballot that would have effectively reversed it, even if it passed.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
He said he had to "effectively tell him what to do the whole time".
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
In following orders from London, Cayman will effectively have to sell core parts of its financial services offering down the river and to the sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Its founding principle is to give money or time to major causes as effectively as possible, an intentionally dispassionate approach has at times been called out of touch.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
You can't effectively fight abusive power, poverty, inequality, illness, oppression, or injustice and not be broken by it.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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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.
