actively
Americanadverb
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in a way that involves deliberate and vigorous engagement or effort.
Our search for your missing son has not slowed and there are important leads being actively pursued even at this moment.
Latin America is here—actively present in U.S. history, culture, and politics.
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with a high degree of volume, use, participation, etc..
Crude oil is the world's most actively traded commodity.
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in a way that is operative or effective at the time; currently.
On any given day, roughly 20 volcanoes are actively erupting.
Well over a million people are actively subscribed and learning languages with the app worldwide.
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in a way that involves physical exercise or movement.
Every volunteer role at the day center is helpful in enabling seniors to live actively, independently, and with dignity.
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Grammar. in or by means of the active voice, where the subject of the verb is also the doer of the action.
Anything expressed with a passive verb could also be expressed actively, so the choice of one over the other is often for stylistic effect.
Other Word Forms
- preactively adverb
- quasi-actively adverb
- semiactively adverb
- superactively adverb
Etymology
Origin of actively
Explanation
Anything described by the adverb actively is happening right now or because of a conscious effort, or a little of both. You probably won’t find a job unless you’re actively looking. If you’re actively doing something, you’re involved in it now. People who actively look for a fight usually find one. If the President is actively involved in peace talks, he’s getting involved in them personally. If you’ve written a perfect sonnet, it’s not going to get published until you actively try to find a place for it. The opposite of actively is passively.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One possibility he’s been actively discussing with Kolstad pushes in almost the opposite direction, inspired by a mutual love of Jackie Chan.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Verma-Lallian is actively exploring eco-friendly cooling technologies that use less water and is looking at deploying AI to run the data centers more efficiently.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
Dimensional Fund Advisors, which advocates passive investing, studied actively managed stock mutual funds between 1991 and 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said China "welcomes all efforts conducive to peace and supports Pakistan in actively undertaking mediation."
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
There are often fewer and fewer opportunities for children to actively engage in music making themselves.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
