The demonstrated capacity of an intervention or method to produce its intended effect.
Reach for it when discussing whether something works under specified conditions
The controlled trial measured the treatment's efficacy against the agreed outcome.
| playful | |
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| everyday | |
| warm | |
| professional |
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| formal |
playful
does it work?
Fits when the technical question needs a plain-language heading
Careful The question is accessible but too loose for a measured scientific property.
everyday
success rate
Fits when a clear proportion of successful cases can be stated
Careful A rate hides outcome size, study conditions, and what counts as success.
warm
impact
Fits when the scale of change is more important than causal precision
Careful Impact can be unintended or harmful and does not by itself show efficacy.
professional
effectiveness
Fits when results in ordinary real-world use are being judged
Careful Efficacy often concerns controlled conditions, so real-world effectiveness answers a different question.
professional
performance
Fits when measured behavior across several criteria is relevant
Careful Performance includes speed or reliability and need not establish the intended effect.
formal
potency
Fits when the strength of an active agent matters
Careful A potent agent can be powerful yet poorly targeted or unsafe.
formal
Fits when practical usefulness to a decision-maker is central
Careful Utility includes convenience or preference, not merely causal ability.
clinical efficacy
Clinical efficacy was assessed before convenience or price.
demonstrated efficacy
Demonstrated efficacy justified a larger and more representative trial.
efficacy of treatment
The review separated the efficacy of treatment from its real-world availability.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated
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