consequence
Americannoun
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consequences
plural
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the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier.
The accident was the consequence of reckless driving.
- Antonyms:
- cause
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an act or instance of following something as an effect, result, or outcome.
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the conclusion reached by a line of reasoning; inference.
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importance or significance.
a matter of no consequence.
-
importance in rank or position; distinction.
a man of great consequence in art.
idioms
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in consequence of, as a result of; on account of.
A trial was held in consequence of the investigation.
-
in consequence, consequently; as a result; hence.
He withdrew from the world, and in consequence was forgotten.
noun
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a result or effect of some previous occurrence
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an unpleasant result (esp in the phrase take the consequences )
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significance or importance
it's of no consequence
a man of consequence
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logic
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a conclusion reached by reasoning
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the conclusion of an argument
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the relations between the conclusion and the premises of a valid argument
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the relation between an effect and its cause
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as a result
Synonym Usage
See effect. See importance.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of consequence
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (from Anglo-French ), from Latin consequentia. See consequent, -ence
Explanation
Things in a sequence come one after another, as in a number sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4. A consequence comes after, or as a result of something you do, for example, "He was given a traffic ticket as a consequence of running the red light." A consequence is a "result" or "conclusion," and the Latin sequī, "to follow," is part of its history. Most actions and acts of nature have a consequence that follows as a result. When people do something wrong, like rob a bank, the consequence will probably be prison time. If an organization works for good and finds a cure for cancer, on the other hand, people will get better as a consequence. When something occurs in nature, like a tornado touching down, destruction might be the consequence.
Vocabulary lists containing consequence
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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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.
See Examples For:
"People need to understand that... there's serious consequence for these types of things," Hegseth said, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
A third consequence may be appearing in bond markets now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
This, and a range of other publications hailing Asia’s economic “miracle” led Edwards to conclude “too many people believed the beguiling narrative” and as a consequence, “lent these economies cheap, abundant capital which was misallocated.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
He is woefully short of minutes for his club, Bournemouth, and lacks sharpness and ruthlessness as a consequence.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Drumming on chairs might have been of no special consequence in a Bethlehem school where little boys acted up whenever they took a mind.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
To some extent, these are the consequences of lowered expectations.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Maybe I’m too much of an optimist, but I hopefully believe that people will see the consequences of AI and not necessarily get rid of it, but work toward making it better,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“My guess is the market is assigning this a low probability, but the consequences are large enough that it deserves some premium.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
I know she’s right, and I also know what the consequences would be.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
