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."

Example Sentences

Few countries, he said, systematically track which species are being traded across their borders, and even fewer conduct routine pathogen screening in those animals.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

The main problem with “A League of His Own” is Mr. Stein’s willingness to take at face value Spalding’s claims in his 1911 book, “America’s National Game,” which systematically inflates Spalding’s role in events.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

"They were systematically allowing this to happen for reasons that haven't ever really been properly explored."

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

It marks the first time that this type of DNA fragmentation analysis, known as fragmentome technology, has been systematically applied to detecting chronic diseases unrelated to cancer.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

But Levanthal and Wunderman’s examples suggest that there may be simple ways to enhance stickiness and systematically engineer stickiness into a message.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• consistently
• methodically
• regularly