effectiveness
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
how well something works to get the result you planned.
the quality of being successful in producing a desired or intended result. Uncountable in its general sense, though countable when referring to specific instances or measures.
Simple“The doctors are still testing the effectiveness of the new drug.”
In context“The study aims to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the government's new environmental policies on urban air quality.”
PitfallThe efficiency of the medicine was high. The effectiveness of the medicine was high.Efficiency means doing something without wasting time or energy; effectiveness means getting the actual result you wanted.
- 02 C1 Advanced
the state of being in operation or having power.
the state of being in effect or having the power to produce a required outcome, particularly regarding legal or military force.
Simple“The law will reach full effectiveness starting next January.”
In context“The treaty's effectiveness was compromised by the lack of a clear enforcement mechanism for member states that failed to comply.”
Usage effectiveness outweigh · enhance effectiveness · evaluate effectiveness
“While she doubts the effectiveness of the Allegra-Pepcid combination, she says it’s “understandable that people turn to things that they can get easily, quickly and less expensively”.”
“That air movement improves the effectiveness of your sweating, he says, which is caused by your body naturally trying to cool itself down.”
From effective + -ness.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.