effective

From Wiktionary

You might be confusing the word effective with affective. These words are commonly misused.

Pronunciation[change]

Adjective[change]

Positive
effective

Comparative
more effective

Superlative
most effective

Effective is on the Academic Vocabulary List.
  1. An effective strategy, treatment, method, etc is one that works well as planned.
    Teachers are using instructional strategies that are most effective in helping students learn.
  2. If you have effective command, consent, control, etc., you have it in practice but not officially.
    The students had effective control over what the teacher would include on the test.
  3. If a law, agreement, change, etc. becomes effective, it officially begins.
    The new rules about ball size are effective next season.

Usage notes[change]

  • This word is commonly confused with affective, which is a rare technical word about emotions.

Related words[change]

Preposition[change]

Preposition
effective

  1. You use effective to tell when something starts officially.
    Effective next week, all employees will wear the new uniform.