efficient
adjective
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Comparing Efficient, Effective, and Proficient
These three words cover some overlapping territory.
Efficient most often describes what is capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy. While the word can be applied to both people and things, it is far more commonly applied to things, such as machines, systems, processes, and organizations. The focus of the word is on how little is wasted or lost while the desired results are produced.
Effective typically describes things—such as policies, treatments, arguments, and techniques—that do what they are intended to do. People can also be described as effective when they accomplish what they set out to accomplish, but the word is far more often applied to things.
Proficient typically describes people, and it often is followed by the preposition at. If you are proficient at something, you are very good at it. You are, in fact, so good at doing it that you are unusually efficient when you do it. One can also be proficient in something, such as a language.
Synonyms
Examples of efficient in a Sentence
Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 5 Mar. 2001
Short and muscular, he is as efficient as a surgeon, cracking eggs with one hand and tossing the shells into the basket under the counter behind him without looking, flipping bread into the slots of a row of toasters, and literally throwing "to go" orders ten feet down the counter to the guy manning the cash register.
—Paul Baumann, Commonweal, 18 July 1997
Wilde was wearing two emeralds, … one on the little finger of each hand. That on the left was the efficient cause of all joys, that on the right of misfortunes. Asked why he continued to wear the one on the right, Wilde said, "One needs misfortunes to live happily."
—Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, (1984) 1988
Originally designed for the preparation of desserts, the woks eventually proved their versatility as efficient vessels for stir-frying, deep-frying, and the reduction of liquids.
—Kemp Miles Minifie, Gourmet, November 1988
that manual lawn mower is not a very efficient tool for doing a huge yard
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
Surprisingly, two of the three rats chose to take the less efficient path of turning away from the reward and running to the car to drive to their Froot Loop destination.
—Kelly Lambert, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
By contrast, solar panels, wind turbines, and appliances like induction stoves only get better — more efficient and cheaper — with time.
—Matt Simon / Grist, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
With Barkley in the mix, the Eagles have the second-best rushing attack in the NFL, while Hurts’ life as a passer has been made easier — and more efficient.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for efficient 
Cite this Entry
“Efficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efficient. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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efficient
adjective
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