effective

English

Etymology

France:effectif (late 14c)＜ Latin: effectus ＜ efficiō ("productive, effective")

Pronunciation

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Adjective

effective (comparative more effective, superlative most effective)

1. Having the power to produce a required effect or effects.

   The pill is an effective method of birth control.

2. Producing a decided or decisive effect.

   The president delivered an effective speech!

3. Efficient, serviceable, or operative, available for useful work.

   How long does it take to make a bunch of civilians an effective military force?

   My effective income after taxes and child support is $500 a month.

   The effective radiated power is determined by multiplying the transmitter power output with the antenna gain.

   The effective voltage of an alternating current is 0.7 times its peak voltage.

4. Actually in effect.

   The curfew is effective at midnight.

Related terms

• effect
• effectivity
• effectual
• efficacious
• efficacity
• efficacy
• efficiency
• efficient

Translations

having the power to produce a required effect or effects

• Arabic: فعال (ar) (fa``aal)
• Bulgarian: ефективен (bg) (efektiven)
• Dutch: efficiënt (nl), werkzaam (nl)
• Finnish: tehokas (fi)
• French: efficace (fr)
• German: wirksam (de)
• Hungarian: hatásos (hu), hatékony (hu)

• Latvian: iedarbīgs (lv)
• Maori: pekepakihiwi (mi)
• Norwegian: virkningsfull (no)
• Polish: efektywny (pl)
• Romanian: efectiv (ro) m, eficient (ro) m, efectent (ro) m
• Russian: эффективный (ru) (effektívnyj) 
• Scottish Gaelic: èifeachdach (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian: učinkovit (sh) m, efektivan (sh)

producing a decided or decisive effect

• Bulgarian: резултатен (bg) (rezultaten)
• Finnish: vaikuttava (fi)
• French: efficace (fr)
• German: wirksam (de)
• Greek: αποτελεσματικός (el) (apotelesmatikós)

• Hungarian: eredményes (hu), célravezető (hu)
• Latvian: iedarbīgs (lv)
• Norwegian: virkningsfull (no)
• Romanian: eficace (ro) m and f
• Russian: результативный (ru) (rezulʹtatívnyj) 
• Scottish Gaelic: èifeachdach (gd)

efficient, serviceable, or operative

• Bulgarian: ефикасен (bg) (efikasen)
• Finnish: vaikuttava (fi), tehollinen (fi), tosiasiallinen (fi), käytettävissä oleva (fi)
• French: efficace (fr) m and f
• German: effektiv, wirkungsvoll

• Norwegian: effektiv (no)
• Romanian: plin de efect (ro), eficace (ro) m and f
• Russian: эффективный (ru) (effektívnyj) , действенный (ru) (déjstvennyj) 
• Scottish Gaelic: èifeachdach (gd)
• Tagalog: mapakipakinabang (tl)

actually in effect

• Bulgarian: действителен (bg) (dejstvitelen)
• Finnish: voimassa (fi), voimassa oleva (fi)
• French: en vigueur (fr)
• German: wirksam (de), in Kraft (de)

• Norwegian: virksom (no)
• Russian: действующий (ru) (déjstvujuščij) , действительный (ru) (dejstvítelʹnyj) 

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Portuguese: efectivo (pt)

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French

Adjective

effective f

1. feminine form of effectif

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Latin

Adjective

effectīve

1. vocative masculine singular of effectīvus