in effect

Idioms  

1. For all practical purposes, as in This testimony in effect contradicted her earlier statement . [Late 1500s]

2. In or into operation, as in This law will be in effect in January . Related phrases include go into effect and take effect , which mean “become operative,” as in This law goes into effect January 1 , or It takes effect January 1 . Similarly, put into effect means “make operative,” as in When will the judge's ruling be put into effect? [Late 1700s] Also see in force , def. 2.

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Example Sentences

It is, in effect, an attempt to engineer a structure where family would normally exist.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

The Health Department, they argued, has no authority to issue what are, in effect, zoning regulations.

From Salon • Apr. 27, 2026

The trade pact says that if the three parties don’t sign off on an extension during this review, the existing deal remains in effect and the parties try again next year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The housing promises, in effect, have been "watered down", wrote Canadian economist and former Trudeau advisor Mike Moffatt late last year in the Toronto Star, shortly after the budget was released.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

Two weeks later I received a letter from him that said, in effect, that when he, too, sometimes had doubts, he relied on his faith to carry him through.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers