systematically

American  

[sis-tuh-mat-ik-lee] / ˌsɪs təˈmæt ɪk li /

adverb

1. in a focused, consistent, and methodical way.

   The report will help me analyze deficiencies within the company and systematically implement action plans to address them over time.

   Europol's Chief of Staff said that children are being systematically targeted for recruitment by criminal gangs.

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Other Word Forms

• intersystematically
  adverb
• nonsystematically
  adverb
• oversystematically
  adverb
• presystematically
  adverb
• quasi-systematically
  adverb
• unsystematically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of systematically

First recorded in 1640–50; systematic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )

Explanation

If you do something systematically, you do it in an orderly, methodical way. Someone who systematically records her dreams is careful to write them in a notebook every single morning. Use the adverb systematically when you describe something that's carried out in a deliberate way, especially following a plan. You might systematically memorize every word in the dictionary, starting with A and working your way through the alphabet, or watch a toddler systematically pick up one Cheerio at a time from his bowl and throw it on the floor. Systematically and systematic come from a Greek root, systematikos, or "combined in a whole."

Related Words

• consistently
• methodically
• regularly