Meaning & use
cooperatively
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Meanings
adverb
In a willing and helpful way, working together with others toward a shared goal.
Grammar: An adverb describing how someone acts: the children played cooperatively. It often follows verbs like work, play, behave, and act.
Patterns
- work cooperatively with someone
- act/behave cooperatively
- play cooperatively
The two teams worked cooperatively to finish the project on time.
The children were asked to play cooperatively while the teacher was out.
Both countries agreed to act cooperatively on climate policy.
adverbbusiness
In a way that involves a business owned and run jointly by its members.
Grammar: A technical use in business writing, describing how an enterprise is organized.
Patterns
- be owned cooperatively
- run something cooperatively
The farm is owned cooperatively by about forty local families.
The stores are run cooperatively, so every member gets a vote.
Common combinations
- work cooperatively
- The departments now work cooperatively instead of competing.
- act cooperatively
- Witnesses acted cooperatively with the police.
- play cooperatively
- The toddlers are learning to play cooperatively.
- cooperatively owned
- The mill is a cooperatively owned business.
Synonyms and how they differ
- together
- A simpler, more general word; cooperatively stresses that people are willing and helpful, not just in the same place.
- helpfully
- Focuses on offering help; cooperatively focuses on working smoothly as a group.
- jointly
- Means 'with more than one party', often in legal or formal contexts, and does not suggest a willing attitude.
Opposites
Word family
- cooperate verb
- to work together willingly
- cooperation noun
- the act of working together
- cooperative adjective
- willing to help; also a jointly owned business
- co-op noun
- an informal short form for a cooperative business
Commonly confused: cooperatively or corporately?
cooperatively vs corporately
Corporately relates to a large company or corporation; cooperatively relates to people working together, often in a small jointly owned group.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cooperatively' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Cooperatively is an adverb describing how they worked, and it follows the verb naturally. Option 2 puts the object in the wrong place, option 3 scrambles the verb phrase, and option 4 uses 'of' where no preposition is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cooperatively”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.