accordingly

accordingly — adverb

1. doing something so that your action matches what a fact, message, or situation c

1.adverbB2
Definition

doing something so that your action matches what a fact, message, or situation calls for.

Example

The weather forecast called for rain, so the hikers packed accordingly.

verb + accordingly: pack/dress/prepare accordingly

Once Hiro saw the test results, she adjusted her diet accordingly.

Common collocations
  • act accordingly
  • behave accordingly
  • plan accordingly
  • adjust accordingly
  • prepare accordingly
  • dress accordingly
Synonyms
  • appropriately

    more general; 'appropriately' need not refer back to a stated fact, while 'accordingly' usually does.

  • correspondingly

    stresses a matching change; often used with comparative numbers or amounts.

  • suitably

    everyday register; focuses on suitability rather than logical match.

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

verb + accordingly

Usage Note

Always sits at the end of a clause and refers back to a fact or instruction stated just before. Common with verbs of action like act, behave, plan, dress, prepare, adjust.

Common Mistakes

She accordingly changed her plans.
She changed her plans accordingly.
accordingly normally goes at the end of the clause, not before the verb.

2. used to link two statements, showing that the second one happens as a logical re

2.adverbC1
Definition

used to link two statements, showing that the second one happens as a logical result of the first.

Example

The bridge was unsafe; accordingly, the city closed it to traffic last Monday.

sentence connector: ; accordingly, ...

Sales fell sharply in March, and the company accordingly reduced its staff.

mid-position: subject + accordingly + verb

Common collocations
  • accordingly, the company
  • accordingly, the court
  • accordingly, the government
Synonyms
  • therefore

    neutral and very common; works in both formal and everyday writing.

  • consequently

    formal; emphasises a chain of cause and effect.

  • thus

    formal and slightly literary; often used in academic writing.

Grammar Patterns

clause; accordingly, clause

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense links two ideas as cause and result, and can sit before the main verb or at the start of the second clause after a semicolon. Sense 1 only appears at the end of a clause and means 'in a fitting way'.

Common Mistakes

It rained heavily, accordingly we cancelled the picnic.
It rained heavily; accordingly, we cancelled the picnic.
when 'accordingly' joins two full clauses, use a semicolon before it and a comma after.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/2

All five words connect a result to a stated cause, but they differ in register and in what they emphasise. 'Therefore' is the neutral, all-purpose choice and fits both speech and writing: 'It was raining, therefore we stayed in.' 'Consequently' is more formal and stresses the chain of cause and effect, often in reports or academic prose: 'Profits fell; consequently, bonuses were cut.' 'Thus' is formal and slightly literary, common in essays and legal texts. 'Hence' is also formal and tends to introduce a noun phrase, as in 'hence the delay'. 'Accordingly' carries a sense of acting in line with what was just stated, so it pairs naturally with decisions and official actions: 'The rules changed, and the staff were trained accordingly.'

accordingly ↗therefore ↗consequently ↗thus ↗hence ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • act accordingly
  • plan accordingly
  • behave accordingly
  • respond accordingly
  • adjust accordingly
  • accordingly, the company
  • accordingly, the court

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Built in late Middle English from 'according' (the present participle of the old verb 'accord', meaning to agree or be in harmony) plus the adverb ending '-ly'. The verb 'accord' came into English from Old French 'acorder', which traces back to Latin 'ad-' (to) and 'cor' (heart). The original idea was 'in a way that is in harmony with something', and from that base the modern senses 'as the situation requires' and 'as a result' both grew.