responsiveness

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   the quality of reacting quickly and in a helpful way to what someone needs or asks.

   Grammar: Uncountable, so it takes a singular verb: 'responsiveness is important', not 'responsiveness are'.

   Patterns

   • responsiveness to someone
   • responsiveness to something
   • improve responsiveness
   • the responsiveness of something

   Customers praised the responsiveness of the support team.

   The company improved its responsiveness to complaints.

   Her responsiveness to the needs of new students made her popular.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   the speed at which a device, system, or program reacts to a user's action.

   Grammar: Uncountable; common in reviews of phones, apps, and websites.

   Patterns

   • the responsiveness of a device
   • improve responsiveness
   • slow responsiveness

   The phone's responsiveness makes typing feel effortless.

   Heavy updates can reduce the responsiveness of an old laptop.

   Testers rated the app highly for responsiveness.

3. 3noununcountabletechnical

   the degree to which living things or systems react to changes around them.

   Grammar: Uncountable; used in science writing about bodies, cells, or ecosystems.

   Patterns

   • responsiveness to light
   • responsiveness to changes
   • the responsiveness of the body

   The study measured the responsiveness of the plants to light.

   Doctors checked the patient's responsiveness to sound.

   Coral responsiveness to warmer water varies between species.

Common combinations

improve responsiveness

The city improved its responsiveness to emergency calls.

responsiveness to something

Their responsiveness to feedback impressed the manager.

quick responsiveness

Quick responsiveness is what users value most in a chat app.

customer responsiveness

Customer responsiveness has become a key measure of service quality.

slow responsiveness

Slow responsiveness made the website frustrating to use.

Synonyms and how they differ

reaction

Use reaction for a single act of responding; responsiveness describes the general ability or quality.

sensitivity

Sensitivity stresses noticing small changes, while responsiveness stresses replying or acting quickly.

flexibility

Flexibility is about being willing to change plans; responsiveness is about reacting fast to a request.

Opposites

Word family

respond verb

to answer or react to someone or something.

response noun

an answer or reaction.

responsive adjective

reacting quickly and in a helpful way.

unresponsive adjective

not reacting or answering.

Commonly confused: responsiveness or responsibility?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “responsiveness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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