effectiveness

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/ɪˈfɛk.tɪv.nɪs//əˈfɛk.tɪv.nəs/

noun

The property of being effective, of achieving results.

“He questioned the effectiveness of the treatment.”

Meanings

nouneffectiveness (countable and uncountable, plural effectivenesses)

plural effectivenesses

  1. countableuncountableThe property of being effective, of achieving results.

    The effectiveness of the drug was well established.

  2. countableuncountableThe capacity or potential for achieving results.

    The problem with these precedents is that the Security Council did not authorize intervention in Syria, and an intervention there will thus harm, not help, the Council’s credibility and effectiveness.

    2013 August 31, Jack L. Goldsmith, “What Happened to the Rule of Law?”, in The New York Times
  3. countableuncountableThe degree to which something achieves results.

    He questioned the effectiveness of the treatment.

    1 more example

    United were having more possession but a sign of the effectiveness of Liverpool's defence was that it took the visitors 76 minutes to force Mignolet into serious action, when he dived to punch away a shot from substitute Nani.

    2013 September 1, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1-0 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2018

Synonyms & antonyms

nounpower to be effective; the quality of being able to bring about an effect

nouncapacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinex
  5. Latinex-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁k-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁kyéti
  9. Proto-Italic*θakjō
  10. Proto-Italic*fakjō
  11. Latinfaciō
  12. Latinefficiō
  13. Latineffectīvu
  14. Frencheffectif
  15. Englisheffective
  16. Englisheffectiveness

From effective + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek δρᾶσις
  • δρᾶσις (drâsis)property
Catalan efectivitat
  • efectivitatproperty
Chinese Mandarin 有效性, 成效
  • 有效性 (yǒuxiàoxìng)property
  • 成效 (chéngxiào)degree
  • 效力 (xiàolì)degree
Dutch effectiviteit
  • effectiviteitdegree
Finnish vaikuttavuus, vaikuttavuus
  • vaikuttavuusproperty
  • vaikuttavuuscapacity or potential
  • vaikuttavuusdegree
  • tehodegree
French efficacité
  • efficacitéproperty
German Wirksamkeit, Effektivität
  • Wirksamkeitproperty
  • Effektivitätproperty
  • Wirkungsfähigkeitproperty
  • Durchsetzungsfähigkeitcapacity or potential
  • Durchsetzungsvermögencapacity or potential
  • Wirksamkeitdegree
  • Wirkungsgraddegree
Greek αποτελεσματικότητα
  • αποτελεσματικότητα (apotelesmatikótita)property
Hungarian hatásosság, eredményesség
  • hatásosságproperty
  • eredményességproperty
  • hatásosságdegree
Indonesian efektivitas, keefektifan
  • efektivitasproperty
  • keefektifanproperty
Italian efficacia, efficacia
  • efficaciaproperty
  • efficaciadegree
Latvian iedarbīgums, lietderīgums
  • iedarbīgumsproperty
  • lietderīgumsproperty
  • efektivitāteproperty
Malay keberkesanan
  • keberkesananproperty
Polish skuteczność
  • skutecznośćproperty
Portuguese eficiência
  • eficiênciaproperty
Romanian eficacitate, eficiență
  • eficacitateproperty
  • eficiențăproperty
Russian эффекти́вность, результати́вность
  • эффекти́вность (effektívnostʹ)property
  • результати́вность (rezulʹtatívnostʹ)property
  • эффекти́вность (effektívnostʹ)degree
  • результати́вность (rezulʹtatívnostʹ)degree
Spanish efectividad, eficacia
  • efectividadproperty
  • eficaciacapacity or potential
Ukrainian ефекти́вність, результати́вність
  • ефекти́вність (efektývnistʹ)property
  • результати́вність (rezulʹtatývnistʹ)property
Cite this entry
APA

effectiveness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effectiveness

MLA

“effectiveness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effectiveness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “effectiveness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effectiveness.

Source: effectiveness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.