consequently
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
as a result of something that was just mentioned.
as a logical consequence or result of a previously stated fact or event.
Simple“The company lost a lot of money last year; consequently, they had to close three offices.”
In context“The region experienced an unprecedented drought throughout the summer; consequently, crop yields were significantly lower than the five-year average.”
UsageTypically functions as a conjunctive adverb, placed at the beginning of a second clause or sentence to show causality.
Teacher's tipThis is a high-register word. In casual conversation, native speakers almost always prefer 'so' or 'as a result'.
PitfallThe weather was bad consequently the flight was cancelled. The weather was bad; consequently, the flight was cancelled.When connecting two independent sentences, use a semicolon before 'consequently' and a comma after it.
Synonyms
Usage consequently increase · consequently provide · consequently require
“Their health may consequently provide valuable information about environmental pressures affecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.”
“Consequently, the professor suggests that more concrete measures may eventually be needed to manage this type of pollution.”
From Middle English consequentely, consequentliche, consequently; equivalent to consequent + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.