efficacy.

The capacity to produce an intended effect under the relevant conditions.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• therapeutic efficacy
• efficacy of an intervention

On the page

Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated separately from the intervention’s possible adverse effects.

The intervention’s efficacy under the trial conditions did not guarantee the same result in every setting.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: effect assessment, evidence qualification, conditional reasoning, method comparison. Disciplines: argumentation, research interpretation, analytical writing. Commonness: moderately common.