Basic Details
Word: Effectual
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Producing the result that was wanted; working well. It is a more formal word than effective.
Synonyms: effective, successful, useful, productive
Antonyms: ineffectual, useless, futile
How to Spell Effectual
Syllables: ef - fec - tu - al
Tricky part: It starts with double f, like effect, and the ending is ual, as in actual. Efectual and effectuel are common slips.
Watch out for: efectual, effectuel, effectul, effecshual
Memory tip: Spell effect first, with its double f, and then add ual as in actual: effect + ual.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Boiling water is a simple and effectual way to make it safe to drink.
Example 2: The new traffic signals proved an effectual cure for the jams near the market.
Example 3: Her letter to the municipal office was more effectual than months of complaining.
Fun Fact
Effectual, effective and efficient all grew from the same Latin verb, efficere, meaning to bring about or to accomplish.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to effectual as used in the sentence:
Planting grass along the slope was an effectual way of stopping the soil from washing away.
a) useful
b) effective
c) futile
d) successful
Show answer
c) futile. Effectual means it worked; futile means it achieved nothing.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
effe_t_al
a) k, u
b) c, o
c) s, u
d) c, u
Show answer
d) c, u. Effect ends in ct, and the ending that follows is ual, as in actual.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. eventual 2. efectual 3. mutual 4. punctual
a) happening at the end of a process
b) shared or felt by two or more people
c) arriving at the agreed time
d) producing the result that was wanted
Show answer
d) producing the result that was wanted. Efectual has lost an f: the word begins like effect, with ff.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An effectual medicine is one that ____.
a) works
b) tastes bitter
c) costs little
d) is new
Show answer
a) works
2. Which prefix turns effectual into its opposite?
a) mis-
b) in-
c) un-
d) dis-
Show answer
b) in-
