Library / English Dictionary

EFFECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An outward appearance

Example:

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

Synonyms:

effect; impression

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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"):

figure (the impression produced by a person)

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(of a law) having legal validity

Example:

the law is still in effect

Synonyms:

effect; force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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 3

Meaning:

An impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived)

Example:

he just did it for effect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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

Synonyms:

burden; core; effect; essence; gist

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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

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

Sense 5

Meaning:

A phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon

Example:

he acted very wise after the event

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

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)

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)

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

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)

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)

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)

dent (an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening))

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))

Derivation:

effect (act so as to bring into existence)

effectuate (produce)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A symptom caused by an illness or a drug

Example:

the effect of the anesthetic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Produce

Example:

The scientists set up a shock wave

Synonyms:

effect; effectuate; set up

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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

Example:

effect a change

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

These evidences of an incompatibility of temper induced Miss Betsey to pay him off, and effect a separation by mutual consent.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Presently we both began to be conscious that the heat was beginning to be of some effect.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

What happens to one sign has an immediate effect on the other.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Metformin may exert antineoplastic effects through AMPK-mediated or AMPK-independent inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is up-regulated in many cancer tissues.

(Metformin hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Metastatic inhibitory effect results in the interference or prevention of cellular neoplastic transformation.

(Metastatic Inhibitory Effect, NCI Thesaurus)

Although the exact mechanism of the depigmenting effects of mequinol remains unclear, it may exert its effect by oxidation of tyrosinase to cytotoxic products in melanocytes.

(Mequinol, NCI Thesaurus)

It has anti-estrogenic effect, which inhibits the progression of estrogen-stimulated cancers by competitive inhibition of estrogen binding to estrogen receptors.

(Mepitiostane, NCI Thesaurus)

Therapy to reduce the effects of menopausal symptoms.

(Menopausal Symptoms Attenuation, NCI Thesaurus)

It says whether the medication has been studied for its effects on children.

(Medicines and Children, Food and Drug Administration)