special effects

British

plural noun

films techniques used in the production of scenes that cannot be achieved by normal techniques

"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

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:

special effects

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, a special effects specialist, said in May at the Cannes Film Festival that he thought AI was "going to destroy the world".

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

His singular belief in his skills, that the special effects were the movie, made sense given how personally he took his work.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

The “handlesticks,” as they’re referred to, were created by special effects designer Jeremy Chernick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

This spawned a series of comical situations, much slapstick and the use of fairly primitive special effects, mainly sped-up film.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

He likes creating these special effects: the stranger and the harder, the better.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023