Effective typically describes things—such as policies, treatments, arguments, and techniques—that do what they are intended to do. People can also be described as effective when they accomplish what they set out to accomplish, but the word is far more often applied to things. EFFECTIVE definition: 1.

Understanding the Context

successful or achieving the results that you want: 2. (used about a treatment or drug) working…. Learn more. Definition of effective adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Key Insights

Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient refer to that which is able to produce a (desired) effect. syn: effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient refer to that which produces or is able to produce an effect. effective is applied to something that produces a desired or expected effect, often a lasting one: an effective speech. effectual usu.

Final Thoughts

refers to something that produces a decisive outcome or result: an effectual settlement ... Adjective effective (comparative more effective, superlative most effective) Having the power to produce a required effect or effects. Find 28 different ways to say EFFECTIVELY, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com. The adjective effective has many shades of meaning, but you'll usually see it describing something that's able to produce a desired goal. Effective traces back to the Latin word effectivus, from efficere, meaning “work out, accomplish,” and that meaning still holds true. Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output.

When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. Effective means having a particular role or result in practice, though not officially or in theory. They have had effective control of the area since the security forces left.