effect

[ ih-fekt ]

noun

1. something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence:

   Exposure to the sun had the effect of toughening his skin.

   Synonyms: issue, outcome

2. power to produce results; efficacy; force; influence:

   His protest had no effect.

3. the state of being operative or functional; operation or execution; accomplishment or fulfillment:

   to bring a plan into effect.

4. a mental or emotional impression produced, as by a painting or a speech.
5. meaning or sense; purpose or intention:

   She disapproved of the proposal and wrote to that effect.

6. the making of a desired impression:

   We had the feeling that the big, expensive car was only for effect.

7. an illusory phenomenon:

   a three-dimensional effect.

8. a real phenomenon (usually named for its discoverer):

   the Doppler effect.

9. Usually effects. a special effect, practical effect, or visual effect in a movie, TV show, or other video. : FX

verb (used with object)

1. to produce as an effect; bring about; make happen; accomplish:

   The new machines finally effected the transition to computerized accounting last spring.

   Synonyms: consummate, perform, fulfill, realize, achieve

effect

/ ɪˈfɛkt /

noun

1. something that is produced by a cause or agent; result
2. power or ability to influence or produce a result; efficacy

   with no effect

3. the condition of being operative (esp in the phrases in or into effect )

   the law comes into effect at midnight

4. take effect
   to become operative or begin to produce results
5. basic meaning or purpose (esp in the phrase to that effect )
6. an impression, usually one that is artificial or contrived (esp in the phrase for effect )
7. a scientific phenomenon

   the Doppler effect

8. in effect
   1. in fact; actually
   2. for all practical purposes
9. the overall impression or result

   the effect of a painting

verb

1. tr to cause to occur; bring about; accomplish

Confusables Note

See affect ¹.

Derived Forms

• efˈfecter, noun
• efˈfectible, adjective

Other Words From

• ef·fect·i·ble adjective
• pre·ef·fect noun verb (used with object)
• un·ef·fect·ed adjective
• un·ef·fect·i·ble adjective
• well-ef·fect·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of effect¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin effectus “the carrying out (of a task, etc.),” hence, “accomplishment, outcome,” equivalent to effec- (variant stem of efficere “to make, carry out”; ef- combining form meaning “out, out from, beyond” + -ficere combining form of the verb facere “do, make”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; ef-, do ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of effect¹

C14: from Latin effectus a performing, tendency, from efficere to accomplish, from facere to do

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in effect,
   1. for practical purposes; virtually:

      His silence was in effect a confirmation of the rumor.

   2. essentially; basically.
   3. operating or functioning; in force:

      The plan is now in effect.

2. take effect,
   1. to go into operation; begin to function.
   2. to produce a result:

      The prescribed medicine failed to take effect.

More idioms and phrases containing effect

see in effect ; into effect ; take effect ; to that effect .

Synonym Study

Effect, consequence(s), result refer to something produced by an action or a cause. An effect is that which is produced, usually more or less immediately and directly: The effect of morphine is to produce sleep. A consequence, something that follows naturally or logically, as in a train of events or sequence of time, is less intimately connected with its cause than is an effect: Punishment is the consequence of disobedience. A result may be near or remote, and often is the sum of effects or consequences as making an end or final outcome: The English language is the result of the fusion of many different elements.

Example Sentences

Shariyf pointed out how there was only one abortion clinic in the state before the total ban went into effect.

From Salon

Brower himself soon resigned from the Sierra Club board in protest over what he saw as its refusal to consider immigration’s effect on population growth.

From Salon

In 2019, going by his byline of “Mike Ma,” he self-published a novel called “Harassment Architecture,” which glorifies those lone-wolf acts of terror, picking up on strains of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who expressed fears about the future “greenhouse effect” and disavowed modernity and its consumerist culture.

From Salon

After agreeing to take the first package, he describes a “snowball effect”.

From BBC

“Those small things, if you add them up in the cumulative effect ... that would add up to like a whole attitudinal change for me. People are going to give you more or offer many, many things to you. And I think when you become accustomed to all of that, that’s where greed follows.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aftermath
• consequence
• development
• event
• fallout
• issue
• outcome
• ramification
• reaction
• repercussion
• response
• side effect