n.
- Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result.
- The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance.
- A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon: the photovoltaic effect.
- Advantage; avail: used her words to great effect in influencing the jury.
- The condition of being in full force or execution: a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow.
- Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention: The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama.
- A particular impression: large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness.
- Production of a desired impression: spent lavishly on dinner just for effect.
- The basic or general meaning; import: He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect.
- effects Movable belongings; goods.
- To bring into existence.
- To produce as a result.
- To bring about. See Usage Note at affect1.
in effect
- In essence; to all purposes: testimony that in effect contradicted her earlier statement.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin effectus, from past participle of efficere, to accomplish : ex-, ex- + facere, to make.]
effecter ef·fect'er n.effectible ef·fect'i·ble adj.
SYNONYMS effect, consequence, result, outcome, upshot, sequel. These nouns denote an occurrence, situation, or condition that is caused by an antecedent. An effect is produced by the action of an agent or a cause and follows it in time: "Every cause produces more than one effect" (Herbert Spencer). A consequence has a less sharply definable relationship to its cause: "Servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt" (John P. Curran). A result is viewed as the end product of the operation of the cause: "Judging from the results I have seen ... I cannot say ... that I agree with you" (William H. Mallock). An outcome more strongly implies finality and may suggest the operation of a cause over a relatively long period: The trial's outcome might have changed if the defendant had testified. An upshot is a decisive result, often of the nature of a climax: "The upshot of the matter ... was that she showed both of them the door" (Robert Louis Stevenson). A sequel is a consequence that ensues after a lapse of time: "Our dreams are the sequel of our waking knowledge" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). See also synonyms at perform.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
