special effect

[ spesh-uhl i-fekt ]

noun

, Movies, Television.

1. Usually special effects. a video or audio illusion in film or other media, created with computer-generated images, prosthetic makeup, pyrotechnics, etc. : SFX

Word History and Origins

Origin of special effect¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

The immersive aspect is pleasantly theatrical — Van Gogh in the round — but it’s no more substantive than any special effect.

From Washington Post

Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Steven Yeun—the human face is magic, a spectacle of beauty and expression that leaves even the most elaborate special effects in the dust.

From Time

They want stories that they can watch with their whole family, that aren’t just special effects.

From Washington Post

While Unreal Engine is common in games, it also appears in architectural rendering situations, cinema special effects, and even in the infotainment system in the upcoming electric Hummer.

From Popular-Science

Participants can learn more about the causes of social anxiety and its special effects on the LGBTQ community, although the workshop is open to the general public.

From Washington Blade

“We wanted to create a very special effect for those ghosts to make it very scary,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

But the best special effect of all was Sigourney Weaver in her tank top.

From The Daily Beast

But, granting the force of these criticisms, the question still remains, Is the special effect of use or disuse transmissible?

From Project Gutenberg

In planning a decoration, the artist has generally some special effect in his mind which he wishes to reproduce.

From Project Gutenberg

The larynx must not be suddenly pressed down nor jerked up, except when this is desired as a special effect.

From Project Gutenberg

But the special effect, I have found, soon wears out The tale simply takes it's place with the rest.

From Project Gutenberg

A special effect of this is the removal of carbon dioxide from the air by the enhanced processes of weathering.

From Project Gutenberg