systematically
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing systematically
Hard Times
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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South of Somewhere
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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.
His forces systematically prioritised targeting Russian air defence starting in December 2025, he said.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
She also became a major force behind a generation of museum curators who have systematically changed who and how institutions across the country collect.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
Banks are selling programs that systematically execute trades based on preset rules to pension funds, endowments, family offices and others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
But he insisted that Royal Mail does not "systematically prioritise parcels over letters".
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
I was one of the least disciplined, so by the time I was ten, the only subject I had studied systematically was Morse code, because Dad insisted that I learn it.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
