effect
[ ih-fekt ]
/ ɪˈfɛkt /
noun
verb (used with object)
to produce as an effect; bring about; make happen; accomplish: The new machines finally effected the transition to computerized accounting last spring.
SYNONYMS FOR effect
VIDEO FOR EFFECT
WATCH NOW: How To Use "Affect" vs. "Effect"
Effect and affect: can you keep these two words straight? We can't either which is why we are giving you some examples to learn the difference between the two!
QUIZZES
THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST
In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?
Question 1 of 10
seclusion
Idioms for effect
- to go into operation; begin to function.
- to produce a result: The prescribed medicine failed to take effect.
in effect,
take effect,
Origin of effect
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin effectus “the carrying out (of a task, etc.),” hence, “accomplishment, outcome,” equivalent to effec- (variant stem of efficere “to make, carry out”; ef- combining form meaning “out, out from, beyond” + -ficere combining form of the verb facere “do, make”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; cf. ef-, do1
synonym study for effect
1. Effect, consequence(s), result refer to something produced by an action or a cause. An effect is that which is produced, usually more or less immediately and directly: The effect of morphine is to produce sleep. A consequence, something that follows naturally or logically, as in a train of events or sequence of time, is less intimately connected with its cause than is an effect: Punishment is the consequence of disobedience. A result may be near or remote, and often is the sum of effects or consequences as making an end or final outcome: The English language is the result of the fusion of many different elements.
words often confused with effect
See affect1.
OTHER WORDS FROM effect
Words nearby effect
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for effect
British Dictionary definitions for effect
effect
/ (ɪˈfɛkt) /
noun
verb
(tr) to cause to occur; bring about; accomplish
See also effects
Derived forms of effect
effecter, nouneffectible, adjectiveWord Origin for effect
C14: from Latin effectus a performing, tendency, from efficere to accomplish, from facere to do
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for effect
effect
[ ĭ-fĕkt′ ]
n.
v.
Other words from effect
ef•fect′i•ble adj.The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with effect
effect
see in effect; into effect; take effect; to that effect.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.