CONSEQUENCE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does consequence mean? 

• CONSEQUENCE (noun)
  The noun CONSEQUENCE has 3 senses:

1. a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon

2. the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual

3. having important effects or influence

  Familiarity information: CONSEQUENCE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONSEQUENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

consequence; effect; event; issue; outcome; result; upshot

Context example:

he acted very wise after the event

Hypernyms ("consequence" is a kind of...):

phenomenon (any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "consequence"):

harvest (the consequence of an effort or activity)

spillover ((economics) any indirect effect of public expenditure)

impact; wallop (a forceful consequence; a strong effect)

influence (the effect of one thing (or person) on another)

knock-on effect (a secondary or incidental effect)

branch; offset; offshoot; outgrowth (a natural consequence of development)

product (a consequence of someone's efforts or of a particular set of circumstances)

placebo effect (any effect that seems to be a consequence of administering a placebo; the change is usually beneficial and is assumed result from the person's faith in the treatment or preconceptions about what the experimental drug was supposed to do; pharmacologists were the first to talk about placebo effects but now the idea has been generalized to many situations having nothing to do with drugs)

position effect ((genetics) the effect on the expression of a gene that is produced by changing its location in a chromosome)

repercussion; reverberation (a remote or indirect consequence of some action)

response (a result)

fallout; side effect (any adverse and unwanted secondary effect)

domino effect (the consequence of one event setting off a chain of similar events (like a falling domino causing a whole row of upended dominos to fall))

dent (an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening))

Coriolis effect ((physics) an effect whereby a body moving in a rotating frame of reference experiences the Coriolis force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation; on Earth the Coriolis effect deflects moving bodies to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere)

coattails effect ((politics) the consequence of one popular candidate in an election drawing votes for other members of the same political party)

change (the result of alteration or modification)

by-product; byproduct (a secondary and sometimes unexpected consequence)

butterfly effect (the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in Rio de Janeiro might change the weather in Chicago)

brisance (the shattering or crushing effect of a sudden release of energy as in an explosion)

bandwagon effect (the phenomenon of a popular trend attracting even greater popularity)

aftermath; backwash; wake (the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event))

aftereffect (any result that follows its cause after an interval)

materialisation; materialization; offspring (something that comes into existence as a result)

Derivation:

consequent (occurring with or following as a consequence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

aftermath; consequence

Hypernyms ("consequence" is a kind of...):

final result; outcome; result; resultant; termination (something that results)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "consequence"):

corollary (a practical consequence that follows naturally)

comeupance; comeuppance; just deserts; poetic justice (an outcome (good or bad) that is well deserved and fitting)

fruit (the consequence of some effort or action)

sequella (a secondary consequence)

train (a series of consequences wrought by an event)

payoff; reward; wages (a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Having important effects or influence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

consequence; import; moment

Context example:

that result is of no consequence

Hypernyms ("consequence" is a kind of...):

significance (the quality of being significant)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "consequence"):

hell to pay (dire consequences)

matter ((used with negation) having consequence)

Antonym:

inconsequence (having no important effects or influence)

Derivation:

consequential (having important issues or results)

 Context examples 

But it is of very little consequence.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Until now, scientists had thought that mitochondria were readily interchangeable, serving only to power our bodies, and so an individual’s mitochondria could be replaced with those from a donor with no consequences.

(Interplay between mitochondria and the nucleus may have implications for changing cell’s ‘batteries’, University of Cambridge)

What do you think will be the consequence of that?

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

While the mechanism for the transmission of the fearful behaviour through the generations requires further study, this sustained response has consequences for evaluating conservation efforts, said Gotanda.

(A decade after the predators have gone, Galapagos Island finches are still being spooked, University of Cambridge)

They had each had money, but their marriages had made a material difference in their degree of consequence.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

However, a malfunction in these mechanisms during the early stages of pregnancy may subsequently lead to complications and adverse consequences for foetal development and the future health of both mother and child.

(A new study highlights the importance of undertaking physical activity of moderate–vigorous intensity during the early weeks of pregnancy, University of Granada)

An outbreak of the disease upon his plantation, which was distant from medical aid, caused him to study it himself, with some rather far-reaching consequences.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This is troubling, especially when the consequences for the environment and human health remain largely unknown.

(Microplastics million times more abundant in the ocean than previously thought, National Science Foundation)

We realized that the orbit was going to carry Juno into Jupiter's shadow, which could have grave consequences because we're solar powered.

(NASA's Juno Navigators Enable Jupiter Cyclone Discovery, NASA)

Instead, the same antivenom is used to treat bites by all the ‘big four’ indiscriminately, often with adverse consequences.

(‘India needs region-specific snakebite antivenoms’, SciDev.Net)