"respective" vs "respectively"

Question

"respective" vs "respectively"

Both 'respectively' and 'respective' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Respectively' is used to indicate that items refer to the things that have been mentioned in the same order, while 'respective' is used to refer to the individual items separately.

Last Updated: March 31, 2024

Use 'respective' when you want to refer to each individual item separately, without indicating a specific order.

Examples:

The students went back to their respective classrooms.
Each team member has their respective responsibilities.

Alternatives:

individual
particular
specific
separate
distinct

Use 'respectively' when you want to show that items correspond to each other in the same order as they were mentioned.

Examples:

John and Mary received gold and silver medals, respectively.
The winners of the race finished first, second, and third, respectively.

Alternatives:

in that order
in the same order
correspondingly
sequentially
in the order mentioned

Answer 1

respective

The word 'respective' is correct and commonly used in English to refer to the individual items separately.

Answer 2

respectively

The word 'respectively' is correct and commonly used in English to indicate that items refer to the things that have been mentioned in the same order.

"respective" vs "respectively"

respective

respectively

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