effect
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effect
ef·fect
(ĭ-fĕkt′)These nouns denote an occurrence, situation, or condition that is produced by a cause or agent. Effect stresses the idea of influence or alteration: a drug whose main effect is to lower hypertension; increased erosion that was the effect of deforestation.
A consequence follows naturally or logically from its cause: a broken wrist that was the consequence of a fall; a reduction in crime that was the consequence of better policing.
A result is viewed as the end product of the operation of the cause: improved his grades as a result of better study habits; an experiment with an unexpected result.
An outcome more strongly implies finality and may suggest the resolution of a complex or lengthy process: 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).
effect
(ɪˈfɛkt)ef•fect
(ɪˈfɛkt)n.
Cause/Effect
- Affect me [with revulsion] like the smell of a cheap cigar left smoldering in an ashtray —Jonathan Valin
In Valin’s novel, Final Notice, the descriptive frame of reference for the simile is a tattoo.
- The certainty [of his desire] landed in the bottom of my stomach like a flatiron —Mary Gordon
- The change [in living accommodations] would be like going from Purgatory to Paradise —Louisa May Alcott
- The conviction that I am loved and loving affects me like a military bracing —John Cheever
- The effort made him choke like a tiger at a bone —Robert Frost
- Every gesture … aroused a beat chant like the beat of the heart of the desert —Anaĩs Nin
- (This city) exacerbates loneliness in me the same way that water makes Alka-Seltzer fizz —Pat Conroy
- The general effect was exactly like a microscopic view of a small detachment of black beetles in search of a dead rat —John Ruskin
- Has a disruptive effect … like a torpedo coming down Main Street —Anon politician on Gramm-Rudman Law, February, 1986
- Has as little effect on me as water on a duck’s back —American colloquialism, attributed to South
A variation: “As water rolling off a duck’s back.”
- Her absence felt like a presence, an electrical charge of silence in the house —John Updike
- His death served to remind me, like a custard pie in the face, that life is sometimes like one big savage joke —Sue Grafton
- (A blast of Prince [music] … ) hit me like a feather boa with a length of lead pipe in it —Jonathan Valin
- Its [melancholy] effect upon you is somewhat similar to what would probably be produced by a combined attack of toothache, indigestion and a cold in the head —Jerome K. Jerome
- It [forcing an old priest into retirement] was just like ripping an old tree out of the ground —W. P. Kinsella
- The kind whisper went to my heart like a dagger —Charlotte Brontë
- Offering a flight attendant a $20 bill for a $2 drink is like spitting on an Alabama state trooper —Louis D. Wilson, Wall Street Journal, June 30, 1986
- Pain and poverty and thwarted ambition … can break the virtues like brittle bones —George Garrett
- Seeing her again … was like rediscovering a half-forgotten landmark —Ann Petry
- [When a tired-looking woman smiles] some of the years of hard living fell away like happy tears —James Crumley
affect
effectAffect /ə'fekt/ is a verb. To affect someone or something means to cause them to change, often in a negative way.
Effect /ɪ'fekt/ is usually a noun. An effect is something that happens or exists because something else has happened.
You can say that something has a particular effect on something else.
Effect is sometimes a verb. If you effect something that you are trying to achieve, you succeed in achieving it. This is a formal use.
result
effectA result of something is an event or situation that happens or exists because of it.
When something produces a change in a thing or person, don't refer to this change as a 'result' on the thing or person. The word you use is effect.
effect
Past participle: effected
Gerund: effecting
Imperative |
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effect |
effect |
Noun | 1. | ![]() phenomenon - any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning offspring, materialisation, materialization - something that comes into existence as a result; "industrialism prepared the way for acceptance of the French Revolution's various socialistic offspring"; "this skyscraper is the solid materialization of his efforts" aftereffect - any result that follows its cause after an interval aftermath, wake, backwash - the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event); "the aftermath of war"; "in the wake of the accident no one knew how many had been injured" bandwagon effect - the phenomenon of a popular trend attracting even greater popularity; "in periods of high merger activity there is a bandwagon effect with more and more firms seeking to engage in takeover activity"; "polls are accused of creating a bandwagon effect to benefit their candidate" brisance - the shattering or crushing effect of a sudden release of energy as in an explosion 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 byproduct, by-product - a secondary and sometimes unexpected consequence change - the result of alteration or modification; "there were marked changes in the lining of the lungs"; "there had been no change in the mountains" coattails effect - (politics) the consequence of one popular candidate in an election drawing votes for other members of the same political party; "he counted on the coattails effect to win him the election" 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 dent - an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening); "it made a dent in my bank account" 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) harvest - the consequence of an effort or activity; "they gathered a harvest of examples"; "a harvest of love" wallop, impact - a forceful consequence; a strong effect; "the book had an important impact on my thinking"; "the book packs a wallop" influence - the effect of one thing (or person) on another; "the influence of mechanical action" knock-on effect - a secondary or incidental effect product - a consequence of someone's efforts or of a particular set of circumstances; "skill is the product of hours of practice"; "his reaction was the product of hunger and fatigue" 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; "his declaration had unforeseen repercussions"; "reverberations of the market crash were felt years later" response - a result; "this situation developed in response to events in Africa" fallout, side effect - any adverse and unwanted secondary effect; "a strategy to contain the fallout from the accounting scandal" spillover - (economics) any indirect effect of public expenditure |
2. | effect - an outward appearance; "he made a good impression"; "I wanted to create an impression of success"; "she retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting" appearance, visual aspect - outward or visible aspect of a person or thing figure - the impression produced by a person; "he cut a fine figure"; "a heroic figure" image - the general impression that something (a person or organization or product) presents to the public; "although her popular image was contrived it served to inspire music and pageantry"; "the company tried to project an altruistic image" mark - the impression created by doing something unusual or extraordinary that people notice and remember; "it was in London that he made his mark"; "he left an indelible mark on the American theater" tout ensemble - a total impression or effect of something made up of individual parts | |
3. | effect - an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived); "he just did it for effect" impression, notion, belief, feeling, opinion - a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; "his impression of her was favorable"; "what are your feelings about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief in his sincerity"; "I had a feeling that she was lying" 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) | |
4. | effect - the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work meaning, signification, import, significance - the message that is intended or expressed or signified; "what is the meaning of this sentence"; "the significance of a red traffic light"; "the signification of Chinese characters"; "the import of his announcement was ambiguous" | |
5. | effect - (of a law) having legal validity; "the law is still in effect" law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" | |
6. | effect - a symptom caused by an illness or a drug; "the effects of sleep loss"; "the effect of the anesthetic" symptom - (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease aftereffect - a delayed effect of a drug or therapy; "the drug had unexpected aftereffects" bummer - a bad reaction to a hallucinogenic drug side effect - a secondary and usually adverse effect of a drug or therapy; "severe headaches are one of the side effects of the drug" | |
Verb | 1. | effect - produce; "The scientists set up a shock wave" accomplish, carry out, carry through, fulfil, fulfill, action, execute - put in effect; "carry out a task"; "execute the decision of the people"; "He actioned the operation" precipitate - bring about abruptly; "The crisis precipitated by Russia's revolution" induce, hasten, stimulate, rush - cause to occur rapidly; "the infection precipitated a high fever and allergic reactions" cause, do, make - give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident" serve - contribute or conduce to; "The scandal served to increase his popularity" |
2. | effect - act so as to bring into existence; "effect a change" act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" bring to bear - bring into operation or effect; "The new members brought to bear new concerns to the U.N." carry - extend to a certain degree; "carry too far"; "She carries her ideas to the extreme" backdate - make effective from an earlier date; "The increase in tax was backdated to January" |
effect
effect
nouneffect
[ɪˈfekt]to feel the effect(s) of → sentir los efectos de
to such good effect that → con tan buenos resultados que ...
to have an effect on sb → hacer efecto a algn
to have an effect on sth → afectar (a) algo
it will have the effect of preventing → tendrá como consecuencia impedir ...
to have the desired effect → producir el efecto deseado
to have no effect; be of no effect → no surtir efecto
in effect (= in fact) → en realidad; (= practically) → de hecho
to be in effect (Jur) → estar vigente, tener vigencia
to come into effect (Jur) → entrar en vigor
to put into effect [+ rule] → poner en vigor; [+ plan] → poner en práctica
to take effect [drug] → surtir efecto
to no effect → inútilmente, sin resultado
with effect from April (esp Brit) → a partir de abril
an increase with immediate effect → un aumento efectivo a partir de hoy
a circular to this effect will be issued next week → la próxima semana se hará pública una circular en este sentido
an announcement to the effect that → un aviso informando de que ...
his letter is to the effect that → en su carta manifiesta que ...
to the same effect → en el mismo sentido
or words to that effect → o algo por el estilo
a pleasing effect → una impresión agradable
to create an effect → impresionar
he said it for effect → lo dijo sólo para impresionar
special effects (Cine, TV) → efectos mpl especiales
effect
[ɪˈfɛkt]effect on → effet sur
to cause an effect → produire un effet
to have an effect → avoir un effet, produire un effet
to have an effect on sb → avoir un effet sur qn, produire un effet sur qn
to have an effect on sth → avoir un effet sur qch, produire un effet sur qch
to take effect, to come into effect [law, policy] → entrer en vigueur, prendre effet
to take effect [drug, anaesthetic] → agir, faire son effet
to put sth into effect, to bring sth into effect [+ plan, idea] → mettre qch en application, mettre qch à exécution
to good effect (= successfully) → avec succès
to no effect (= unsuccessfully) → en vain
with immediate effect adv (British) (= immediately) → avec effet immédiat
His letter is to the effect that → Sa lettre nous apprend que ...
to this effect (= saying this) → dans ce sens
effect
effect
[ɪˈfɛkt]to have an effect on sb/sth → avere or produrre un effetto su qn/qc
to have no effect → non avere or produrre alcun effetto
to no effect → invano
to such good effect that → con risultati così buoni che
to recover from the effects of an illness → rimettersi dai postumi di una malattia
to put into effect (rule) → rendere operativo (plan) → attuare
to take effect (drug) → fare effetto
to come into or take effect (Law) → entrare in vigore
in effect → in realtà, effettivamente, in effetti
his letter is to the effect that ... (frm) → il tenore della sua lettera è che...
or words to that effect → o qualcosa di simile
to create an effect → fare effetto
he said it for effect → l'ha detto per far colpo
see also effects