Meaning & use
concerted
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Planned or done together by several people or groups, working toward a shared aim.
Grammar: Always goes before a noun: a concerted campaign, a concerted effort.
Patterns
- a concerted effort to do something
- a concerted attempt
Neighbors made a concerted effort to clean up the park.
The two countries launched a concerted attack on smuggling.
A concerted campaign persuaded the council to act.
adjectivebefore a noun
Done with determined, serious effort that is kept up over time.
Grammar: Even when one person is involved: a concerted attempt to quit.
Patterns
- a concerted attempt
- a concerted push
She made a concerted attempt to learn Spanish before the trip.
The company has made a concerted push into Asia.
There has been a concerted drive to improve reading skills.
Common combinations
- concerted effort
- It will take a concerted effort to finish on time.
- concerted action
- Governments need concerted action on climate change.
- concerted attempt
- He made a concerted attempt to win her trust.
- concerted campaign
- A concerted campaign raised funds for the school.
- concerted attack
- A concerted attack on the problem followed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- coordinated
- Coordinated stresses that the parts work together, whereas concerted adds serious, deliberate effort.
- joint
- Joint only says that people share the action, while concerted implies determination.
- determined
- Determined describes one person's resolve, but concerted usually involves several people.
- united
- United focuses on agreement and togetherness, and is not necessarily about effort.
Opposites
Word family
- concert noun
- agreement or joint action; also a musical performance
- concert verb
- to arrange by agreement
- in concert phrase
- working together
- concertedly adverb
- in a joint, determined way
Commonly confused: concerted or concerned? concerted or concert?
concerted vs concerned
Concerned means worried or involved, while concerted means done together with effort.
concerted vs concert
Concert is a musical performance, but the older sense of joint action is the source of concerted.
Practice
Flooding will only be reduced if the towns along the river make a ___ effort to plan together.
Choose one answer.
A concerted effort is a joint, determined effort. Concerned means worried and is a similar-looking but wrong word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “concerted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.