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Infective vs Effective - What's the difference?

infective | effective |

As adjectives the difference between infective and effective

is that infective is able to cause infection; infectious while effective is having the power to produce a required effect or effects.

As nouns the difference between infective and effective

is that infective is (epidemiology) a person who is capable of spreading a disease by infecting others while effective is (military) a soldier fit for duty.

infective

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Able to cause infection; infectious

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (epidemiology) A person who is capable of spreading a disease by infecting others
  • * {{quote-book, 2002, Belinda Barnes & Glenn Fulford, Mathematical Modeling with Case Studies citation
    • , passage=It is evident that the greater the number of susceptibles, then the greater the increase in the number of infectives .}}

    Coordinate terms

    * immune * susceptible

    effective

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having the power to produce a required effect or effects.
    • The pill is an effective method of birth control.
  • Producing a decided or decisive effect.
    • The president delivered an effective speech!
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • Whosoever is an effective , real cause of doing his neighbour wrong, is criminal.
  • Efficient, serviceable, or operative, available for useful work.
    • How long does it take to make a bunch of civilians an effective military force?
    My effective income after taxes and child support is $500 a month.
    The effective radiated power is determined by multiplying the transmitter power output with the antenna gain.
    The effective voltage of an alternating current is 0.7 times its peak voltage.
  • Actually in effect.
    • The curfew is effective at midnight.
  • Having no negative coefficients.

    • Related terms

    * effect * effectivity * effectual * efficacious * efficacity * efficacy * efficiency * efficient

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (military) A soldier fit for duty.
  • *1876 , , Recollections of the Elkhorn Campaign :
  • *:The Army of the West reached Corinth sometime after the battle of Shiloh. We were 15,000 effectives , and brought Beauregard's effective force up to 45,000 men.
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