effects

[ ih-fekts ]

/ ɪˈfɛkts /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR effects ON THESAURUS.COM

plural noun

goods; movables; personal property.

Nearby words

Origin of effects

plural of effect

Synonym study

See property.

effect

[ ih-fekt ]

/ ɪˈfɛkt /

noun

something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence: Exposure to the sun had the effect of toughening his skin.

power to produce results; efficacy; force; validity; influence: His protest had no effect.

the state of being operative or functional; operation or execution; accomplishment or fulfillment: to bring a plan into effect.

a mental or emotional impression produced, as by a painting or a speech.

meaning or sense; purpose or intention: She disapproved of the proposal and wrote to that effect.

the making of a desired impression: We had the feeling that the big, expensive car was only for effect.

an illusory phenomenon: a three-dimensional effect.

a real phenomenon (usually named for its discoverer): the Doppler effect.

special effects.

verb (used with object)

to produce as an effect; bring about; accomplish; make happen: The new machines finally effected the transition to computerized accounting last spring.

Origin of effect

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin effectus the carrying out (of a task, etc.), hence, that which is achieved, outcome, equivalent to effec- (variant stem of efficere to make, carry out; ef- ef- + -ficere, combining form of facere to do¹) + -tus suffix of v. action

SYNONYMS FOR effect

1. outcome, issue. 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. 10. achieve, realize, fulfill, perform, consummate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR effect ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

ef·fect·i·ble, adjectivepre·ef·fect, noun, verb (used with object)un·ef·fect·ed, adjectiveun·ef·fect·i·ble, adjective

well-ef·fect·ed, adjective

Can be confusedaffect effect (see usage note at affect¹)

Usage note

See affect¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for effects

That makes it incredibly difficult to determine the effects of airstrikes, for example.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The Syrian war is having its effects here as well,” said Yehyavi, the Iranian consul general in Quetta.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We see the effects of a state that spends more money per capita on prisons than it does on education.
Bobby Shmurda and Rap’s Ultimate Hoop Dream|Rawiya Kameir|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Moreover, trucks, dust, and boomtown stress are the effects of any large-scale industrial activity.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban|Jay Michaelson|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In war, he wrote, “everything is uncertain … all military action is intertwined with psychological forces and effects.”
How Clausewitz Invented Modern War|James A. Warren|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The alleged inheritance of the effects of use and disuse in our domestic animals must be very slow and slight.
Are the Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited?|William Platt Ball
This effects the same purpose as the phonograph, but in a somewhat different manner.
How it Works|Archibald Williams
This was agreed to, under articles of capitulation, by which the effects of the people therein were secured to them.
The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 2 of 2|Edgerton Ryerson
I will not say, Here is fine or cheap: that were an injury to the verse itself, and to the effects it can produce.
Poems of Henry Vaughan, Silurist, Volume II|Henry Vaughan
Yet he believed in the goblins, to whom miners ascribe the effects of mephitic exhalations.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 1|Henry Hallam

British Dictionary definitions for effects

effects

/ (ɪˈfɛkts) /

pl n

Also called: personal effects personal property or belongings

lighting, sounds, etc, to accompany and enhance a stage, film, or broadcast production

effect

/ (ɪˈfɛkt) /

noun

something that is produced by a cause or agent; result

power or ability to influence or produce a result; efficacywith no effect

the condition of being operative (esp in the phrases in or into effect)the law comes into effect at midnight

take effect to become operative or begin to produce results

basic meaning or purpose (esp in the phrase to that effect)

an impression, usually one that is artificial or contrived (esp in the phrase for effect)

a scientific phenomenonthe Doppler effect

in effect

in fact; actually
for all practical purposes

the overall impression or resultthe effect of a painting

verb

(tr) to cause to occur; bring about; accomplish

Word 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

Word Origin and History for effects

effects

"goods, property," 1704, plural of effect (n.).

effect

late 14c., "a result," from Old French efet (13c., Modern French effet) "result, execution, completion, ending," from Latin effectus "accomplishment, performance," from past participle stem of efficere "work out, accomplish," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + facere "to do" (see factitious).

Meaning "impression produced on the beholder" is from 1736. Sense in stage effect, sound effect, etc. first recorded 1881. The verb is from 1580s. Related: Effecting; effection.

Medicine definitions for effects

effect

[ ĭ-fĕkt′ ]

n.

Something brought about by a cause or an agent; a result.

The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence.

A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon.

The condition of being in full force or execution.

Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention.

v.

To bring into existence.

To produce as a result.

To bring about.

Related formsef•fect′i•ble adj.

Idioms and Phrases with effects

effect

see in effect; into effect; take effect; to that effect.

effects

plural noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of effects

Synonym study

effect

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of effect

Usage note

Examples from the Web for effects

effects

pl n

effect

noun

verb

Word Origin for effect

effects

effect

effect

n.

v.

effect