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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak quote

Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak

CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com

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experimentally

Grammar usage guide and real-world examples

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "experimentally" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a process that was done through experimentation or tests. For example: "The scientists tested the new medicine experimentally before administering it to any patients."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The thing is, you don't notice this when you experimentally dangle the bag, stuffed with tissue paper, over your shoulder in a shop.

When, experimentally, I dropped a piece of popcorn in his lap, it went right through, and he reached through his own transparent groin to get it, but no luck, as the popcorn had physical substance and Mr Tough Guy didn't.

Elsewhere, it would be great to see an Oscar for best adapted screenplay go to Paul Thomas Anderson's almost experimentally delirious version of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice — what a wonderful film — and the best foreign language Oscar to Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan or Paweł Pawlikowski's Ida.

A frosted glass disc, set into the roof of an igloo-like space, like a porthole onto the universe, offers the spectacle of a wormlike white light, again created by preprogrammed LEDs, moving experimentally across the surface".Transcircle 1.1" (2004) is supposed to represent a sacred circle of nine totemic objects, like an acrylic Avebury.

News & Media

The Economist

Rats in a similar, experimentally induced, situation suffered 50% less tissue damage with the anti-C5 antibody than without it.

News & Media

The Economist

But, oddly, it was never followed up experimentally in the wild, to understand the nuances of the process.That has just changed, with the publication in Nature of an experiment which Lucy Aplin of Oxford University conducted in nearby Wytham Wood probably the most intensively studied habitat on the planet.

News & Media

The Economist

Furthermore, he notes that, when freshwater flows through the Everglades were increased experimentally in the 1990s, it led to massive plankton blooms.

News & Media

The Economist

Yet, oddly, hardly anyone is using them in this way.Hewlett-Packard and Intel pioneered the corporate use of prediction markets, but neither seems to be using them other than experimentally.

News & Media

The Economist

Though these "virtual" particles have such a transient existence, their effects can be detected experimentally, so there is no doubt that they exist.

News & Media

The Economist

And the more desirable (and therefore the more courted) a male is himself, the choosier he can afford to be.Sarah Kraak, who also works at Berne, set out to prove this point experimentally.

News & Media

The Economist

Unlike those, it makes predictions which can be tested experimentally, not now but perhaps in the near future for instance through detailed analysis of the CMB.

News & Media

The Economist
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Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using the word in a non-scientific context, ensure it implies a sense of trying something new or testing a theory, like 'The company "experimentally" introduced a four-day workweek.'

Common error

Do not confuse "experimentally" (related to scientific experiments) with "experientially" (related to personal experience). While they sound similar, they serve very different purposes in analytical writing.

Antonio Rotolo, PhD - Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Antonio Rotolo, PhD

Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Source & Trust

89%

Authority and reliability

4.9/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Linguistic Context

The word "experimentally" functions primarily as an adverb of manner. In the examples provided by Ludwig, it modifies verbs to indicate that an action is being performed for the purpose of investigation, trial or verification. It can also function as a sentence adverb to qualify the entire scope of a claim as being grounded in experimental data rather than theoretical speculation.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

48%

Encyclopedias

42%

News & Media

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

5%

Social Media

2%

Reference

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The adverb "experimentally" is a robust and essential term for writers in the sciences, philosophy and high-end journalism. Based on the data from Ludwig, it is most frequently used to verify that a phenomenon has been tested through rigorous methods rather than just observed or theorized. While it is Very common in academic literature, its use in lifestyle or general news (like dangling a bag "experimentally") demonstrates its flexibility in describing any trial-based action. Writers should prioritize this word when they need to convey scientific authority or methodological precision, taking care not to confuse it with more general terms like "practically".

FAQs

How do I use "experimentally" in a sentence?

You can use it to modify a verb to show that an action is part of a test. For example: "The new software was deployed "experimentally" in three departments."

What is the difference between "experimentally" and "empirically"?

While often used interchangeably, "experimentally" implies the use of a controlled test or experiment, whereas "empirically" refers to any knowledge gained through observation or data collection.

Can I use "tentatively" instead of "experimentally"?

Only if you want to emphasize hesitation. If you mean something is being done as a formal test, stick with "experimentally"; if it is just a non-committal first step, use "tentatively".

Is "experimentally" suitable for academic papers?

Yes, it is a standard term in scientific and philosophical discourse to denote that findings are based on active testing rather than pure theory.

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Source & Trust

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Authority and reliability

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Real-world application tested

Most frequent sentences: