EFFECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does effect mean? 

• EFFECT (noun)
  The noun EFFECT has 6 senses:

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

2. an outward appearance

3. an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived)

4. the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

5. (of a law) having legal validity

6. a symptom caused by an illness or a drug

  Familiarity information: EFFECT used as a noun is common.

• EFFECT (verb)
  The verb EFFECT has 2 senses:

1. produce

2. act so as to bring into existence

  Familiarity information: EFFECT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EFFECT (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 ("effect" 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 "effect"):

harvest (the consequence of an effort or activity)

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

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

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)

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

dent (an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening))

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

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

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

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

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

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

change (the result of alteration or modification)

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

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)

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))

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)

Derivation:

effect (act so as to bring into existence)

effectuate (produce)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An outward appearance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

effect; impression

Context example:

she retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting

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

appearance; visual aspect (outward or visible aspect of a person or thing)

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

image (the general impression that something (a person or organization or product) presents to the public)

mark (the impression created by doing something unusual or extraordinary that people notice and remember)

tout ensemble (a total impression or effect of something made up of individual parts)

figure (the impression produced by a person)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

he just did it for effect

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

belief; feeling; impression; notion; opinion (a vague idea in which some confidence is placed)

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

sound effect (an effect that imitates a sound called for in the script of a play)

special effect (an effect used to produce scenes that cannot be achieved by normal techniques (especially on film))

Derivation:

effect (produce)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

burden; core; effect; essence; gist

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

import; meaning; significance; signification (the message that is intended or expressed or signified)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(of a law) having legal validity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

effect; force

Context example:

the law is still in effect

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

validity; validness (the quality of having legal force or effectiveness)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A symptom caused by an illness or a drug

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

the effect of the anesthetic

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

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

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

side effect (a secondary and usually adverse effect of a drug or therapy)

bummer (a bad reaction to a hallucinogenic drug)

aftereffect (a delayed effect of a drug or therapy)

Derivation:

effectuate (produce)

• EFFECT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they effect    ... he / she / it effects   
Past simple: effected   
Past participle: effected   
-ing form: effecting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Produce

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

effect; effectuate; set up

Context example:

The scientists set up a shock wave

Hypernyms (to "effect" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Cause:

come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "effect"):

accomplish; action; carry out; carry through; execute; fulfil; fulfill (put in effect)

draw; get (earn or achieve a base by being walked by the pitcher)

precipitate (bring about abruptly)

hasten; induce; rush; stimulate (cause to occur rapidly)

serve (contribute or conduce to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

effect (an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived))

effecter (one who brings about a result or event; one who accomplishes a purpose)

effective (able to accomplish a purpose; functioning effectively)

effective (producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act so as to bring into existence

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

effect a change

Hypernyms (to "effect" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "effect"):

bring to bear (bring into operation or effect)

carry (extend to a certain degree)

backdate (make effective from an earlier date)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

effect (a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon)

effecter; effector (one who brings about a result or event; one who accomplishes a purpose)

 Context examples 

To you, and to you only, belongs the credit of the remarkable arrest which you have effected.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At the time the circumstances made a deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly served to weaken the effect.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This was the startling effect of the cessation of motion.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

These were distinct nervous shocks, and their effect was not good on her.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

And a great resolve surged into his will to the effect that he would not leave the office until he got his money.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

This occasioned farther talk; and I saw the company was pleased with my behaviour, whereof I soon found the good effects.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

More than one person fainted at the mere sight of him, so terrible was the effect.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The repeated drenchings in the icy water had likewise had their effect on him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But the lecture began to take effect, for there was a wide-awake sparkle in his eyes now and a half-angry, half-injured expression replaced the former indifference.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

To lie in wait for me now would mean that the creature had appreciated what had happened to me, and this in turn would argue some power connecting cause and effect.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)