effect

Pluraleffects

Formseffects, effecting, effected

1. 1
   resultnouncountable or uncountable

   A change or result that follows from a cause; the influence one thing has on another.

   The policy had a noticeable effect on local employment.

   Researchers studied the long-term effects of the drug.

   UsageUsually have an effect on something. The verb for influence is affect: rain affects crops (not incorrect: effects crops).

   Similarresult, consequence, outcome, impact, influence

   Oppositecause

2. 2
   film tricknouncountable or uncountable

   A sight or sound created by technical means, as in a film, game, or recording, or a device that produces it.

   The film's water effect was achieved entirely with computer graphics.

   Practical effects often age better than digital ones.

   UsageOften plural and with a describing word: special effects, visual effects, sound effects.

   Note

   A term from film and graphics for an illusion built by technique. It belongs as much to the demoscene as to cinema. Jimmy Maher's The Future Was Here (2012) calls strobing bands of color "the most prototypical of all Amiga demoscene effects," a direct result of the hardware they ran on. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Jimmy Maher wrote The Future Was Here, first published in 2012; 2018 is the paperback publication year. mitpress.mit.edu
   • Maher describes strobing bands of color using the quoted words and attributes them directly to the hardware. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   legal forcenoununcountable

   The state of being in operation or legally in force, as in come into effect or put into effect.

   The ban remains in effect until further notice.

   The treaty takes effect once both nations ratify it.

   UsageFixed phrases: in effect, take effect, come into effect, put into effect. A law takes effect (not incorrect: takes affect).

   Similarforce, operation

   Note

   Law and administration use it for a rule that is in operation and can be enforced, mostly in come into effect, take effect and in effect.

4. 4
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The impression or sensation produced in the mind by something.

   The painting's effect on viewers was both haunting and serene.

   Skilled speakers use a well-timed pause for dramatic effect.

   UsageCommon in for effect, meaning done mainly to impress: a pause for dramatic effect.

   Similarimpact, impression, influence

   Note

   Something that happens in the viewer or listener rather than in the world. Washington Irving shows the other common move in Tales of the Alhambra (1832): an effect is heightened by its setting, here by "the wild and lonely nature of the place." Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Washington Irving wrote Tales of the Alhambra, first published in 1832. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted words occur in Irving's narration, describing how the setting heightened an impression. gutenberg.org
   • Washington Irving is the author of the work. commons.wikimedia.org
5. 5
   bring aboutverbtransitive

   To bring about or cause something to happen; to put it into action.

   The committee effected sweeping reforms within a year.

   Management hopes to effect changes to the scheduling system.

   UsageTakes objects like change, reform or a transfer. To effect change is to make it happen; to affect something is to influence it.

   Similarimplement, achieve, accomplish, produce, cause

   Note

   The verb keeps Latin efficiō, "accomplish," close at hand: to effect something is to bring it into being. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The verb effect ultimately derives from Latin efficiō, meaning accomplish. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   gistnouncountable or uncountable

   The general meaning, purpose, or intent of something said or written.

   The memo warned of layoffs, or something to that effect.

   The contract included a clause to the effect that either party could cancel.

   UsageUsually to that effect or to the effect that: he said no, or something to that effect.

   Similarmeaning, sense, gist, purport, drift

   Note

   It reports the gist of what was said without claiming the exact words. That is how the King James Bible of 1611 can write "They spake to her to that effect." Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikisource.org
   • The quoted words occur in the King James Bible, in 2 Chronicles 34:22. en.wikisource.org
7. 7
   named phenomenonnouncountable or uncountable

   A scientific phenomenon, typically named after the person who discovered it.

   The photoelectric effect demonstrated that light can behave as particles.

   Engineers must account for the Coriolis effect in long-range ballistics.

   UsageUsually the + a name + effect, with only the name capitalized: the Doppler effect.

8. 8
   nouncountable or uncountable

   What is actually the case in reality or in practice, as opposed to appearance or form, now chiefly in the phrase in effect.

   no other in effect than what it seems

   1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill

   Note

   Here effect means what is truly so, set against mere appearance. John Denham's Cooper's Hill (1642) has "no other in effect than what it seems." Today it lives on in the phrase in effect, meaning "in practice" or "essentially," as in a rule that is in effect a ban. In older texts, read it with the stronger sense of "in reality." Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Effect historically meant reality or fact, as distinguished from appearance. en.wiktionary.org
   • John Denham wrote Cooper's Hill, first published in 1642. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
   • Cooper's Hill contains the quoted words. rpo.library.utoronto.ca

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