reciprocally

[ ri-sip-ruh-klee ]

adverb

1. by or from one to the other; in a way that involves equal exchange between two people or groups; mutually:

   A “Service Engagement” is any endeavor that brings the community into the campus and the campus into the community, reciprocally, often to address a social concern.

2. in return:

   As valuable information about you is gathered, you will be able to see who is doing the gathering, and can reciprocally gather your own information about the gatherers.

3. Grammar. so as to express mutual action or relationship:

   In Spanish, some reflexive verbs can be used reciprocally, so “Nosotras nos vemos,” “we see ourselves,” can also mean “we see each other.”

4. in an opposite or inverse relation or proportion:

   In motion, space and time are reciprocally related, as expressed in the equation of motion, v = s/t.

Other Words From

• non·re·cip·ro·cal·ly adverb
• un·re·cip·ro·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of reciprocally¹

First recorded in 1550–60; reciprocal ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Locally connected "interneurons" are an integral part of the cortical circuit, reciprocally linking cortical neurons.

From Science Daily

The AK group was not only more social than the other two, but they also exchanged grooming more reciprocally.

From Science Daily

“Five imprisoned citizens who were in Iran will be given to the U.S. side reciprocally, based on their will. We expect these two issues fully take place based on the agreement.”

From Seattle Times

"Vision is remarkable because it's a process that reciprocally shapes what the world looks like," explains Adriana Briscoe, an evolutionary biology professor at University of California, Irvine who specializes in butterfly vision.

From Salon

In our time, which is to say in Addario’s, unwavering faith in the justice of one side has perished, a casualty of too many brutal, pointless, reciprocally corrupt wars.

From New York Times

Related Words

• accordingly
• collectively
• cooperatively
• in tandem
• mutually
• simultaneously
• together
• unitedly