cause-and-effect
Americanadjective
Usage
What does cause-and-effect mean? Cause-and-effect describes a relationship between actions or events in which at least one action or event is a direct result of the others.Let’s say that you slam your toe into a desk and then yell in pain. Slamming your toe (the first action) hurts, so you yell (the second action). The first action is the cause of the second action, that is, the effect. A cause is a source or producer of effects. An effect is the result or consequence of a cause. The two actions have a cause-and-effect relationship.A cause-and-effect relationship can have multiple causes and one effect, as when you stay up all night and skip breakfast (the causes), you will likely find yourself cranky (the effect).A cause-and-effect relationship can also have one cause but many effects, as when staying up all night (the cause) makes you both cranky and tired (the effects).And, of course, a cause-and-effect relationship can have multiple causes and multiple effects, as when skipping classes and not studying (the causes) result in you not understanding the material and failing the class (the effects).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Because this was an observational study, the authors emphasize that it cannot establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
From Science Daily
To try and shed light on the cause-and-effect relationship, Australian researchers are recruiting 13- to 16-year-olds for a "Connected Minds Study" to assess how the ban affects their wellbeing.
From Barron's
Clear cause-and-effect situations like this are nearly impossible to recreate in controlled experiments, giving researchers a rare natural experiment.
From Science Daily
The observational study did not prove causation, or a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but could only link associations between music and lower dementia risks, Jaffa said.
From MarketWatch
"Also, while the association we found raises safety concerns about the widely used supplement, our study cannot prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. This means more research is needed to test melatonin's safety for the heart."
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
