Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Effect

Ef-fect′

,
Noun.
[L.
effectus
, fr.
efficere
,
effectum
, to effect;
ex
+
facere
to make: cf. F.
effet
, formerly also spelled
effect
. See
Fact
.]
1.
Execution; performance; realization; operation;
as, the law goes into
effect
in May
.
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The
effect
and it.
Shakespeare
2.
Manifestation; expression; sign.
All the large
effects

That troop with majesty.
Shakespeare
3.
In general: That which is produced by an agent or cause; the event which follows immediately from an antecedent, called the cause; result; consequence; outcome; fruit;
as, the
effect
of luxury
.
The
effect
is the unfailing index of the amount of the cause.
Whewell.
4.
Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
Patchwork . . . introduced for oratorical
effect
.
J. C. Shairp.
The
effect
was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.
W. Irving.
5.
Power to produce results; efficiency; force; importance; account;
as, to speak with
effect
.
6.
Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; – with to.
They spake to her to that
effect
.
2 Chron. xxxiv. 22.
8.
Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
No other in
effect
than what it seems.
Denham.
9.
pl.
Goods; movables; personal estate; – sometimes used to embrace real as well as personal property;
as, the people escaped from the town with their
effects
.
Syn. –
Effect
,
Consequence
,
Result
.
These words indicate things which arise out of some antecedent, or follow as a consequent. Effect, which may be regarded as the generic term, denotes that which springs directly from something which can properly be termed a cause. A consequence is more remote, not being strictly caused, nor yet a mere sequence, but following out of and following indirectly, or in the train of events, something on which it truly depends. A result is still more remote and variable, like the rebound of an elastic body which falls in very different directions. We may foresee the effects of a measure, may conjecture its consequences, but can rarely discover its final results.
Resolving all events, with their
effects

And manifold
results
, into the will
And arbitration wise of the Supreme.
Cowper.
Shun the bitter
consequence
, for know,
The day thou eatest thereof, . . . thou shalt die.
Milton.

Ef-fect′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Effected
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Effecting
.]
1.
To produce, as a cause or agent; to cause to be.
So great a body such exploits to
effect
.
Daniel.
2.
To bring to pass; to execute; to enforce; to achieve; to accomplish.
To
effect
that which the divine counsels had decreed.
Bp. Hurd.
Syn. – To accomplish; fulfill; achieve; complete; execute; perform; attain. See
Accomplish
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Effect

EFFECT'

,
Noun.
[L. effectus, from efficio; ex and facio, to make.]
1.
That which is produced by an agent or cause; as the effect of luxury; the effect of intemperance.
Poverty, disease and disgrace are the natural effects of dissipation.
2.
Consequence; event.
To say that a composition is imperfect,is in effect to say the author is a man.
3.
Purpose; general intent.
They spoke to her to that effect. 2 Chron.34.
4.
Consequence intended; utility; profit; advantage.
Christ is become of no effect to you. Gal.5.
5.
Force; validity. The obligation is void and of no effect.
6.
Completion; perfection.
Not so worthily to be brought to heroical effect by fortune or necessity.
7.
Reality; not mere appearance; fact.
No other in effect than what it seems.
8.
In the plural, effects are goods; movables; personal estate. The people escaped from the town with their effects.

EFFECT'

,
Verb.
T.
[from the Noun.] To produce, as a cause or agent; to cause to be. The revolution in France effected a great change of property.
1.
To bring to pass; to achieve; to accomplish; as, to effect an object or purpose.

Definition 2024

effect

effect

English

Noun

effect ‎(countable and uncountable, plural effects)

  1. The result or outcome of a cause. See usage notes below.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
      The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess:
      The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […]  The bed was the most extravagant piece.  Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar.
    • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
      The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
    The effect of the hurricane was a devastated landscape.‎
  2. Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
    • J. C. Shairp
      patchwork […] introduced for oratorical effect
    • Washington Irving
      The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.
  3. Execution; performance; realization; operation.
    • Shakespeare
      That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / The effect and it.
    1. (uncountable) The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law.
      The new law will come into effect on the first day of next year.‎
  4. (cinematography) An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")
    The effect of flying was most convincing.‎
  5. (sound engineering) An alteration, or device for producing an alteration, in sound after it has been produced by an instrument.
    I use an echo effect here to make the sound more mysterious.‎
    I just bought a couple of great effects.‎
  6. (physics, psychology, etc.) A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.
    Doppler effect‎
  7. (chiefly in the plural) Belongings, usually as personal effects.
  8. Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to.
    • Bible, Chron. xxxiv. 22
      They spake to her to that effect.
  9. (obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
    • Denham
      no other in effect than what it seems
  10. (obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign.
    • Shakespeare
      All the large effects / That troop with majesty.

Usage notes

The words “affect” and “effect” can both be used as nouns or verbs, but when used as a noun the word affect is more common in the psychology field, and the above definitions for effect are much more common. See also the usage notes as a verb below.

Adjectives often applied to "effect":

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

effect ‎(third-person singular simple present effects, present participle effecting, simple past and past participle effected)

  1. To make or bring about; to implement.
    The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders.
  2. Misspelling of affect.

Usage notes

Effect is often confused with “affect”. The latter is used to convey the influence over existing ideas, emotions and entities; the former indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:

  • “...new governing coalitions have effected major changes” indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions.
  • “...new governing coalitions have affected major changes” indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over these existing changes.

Related terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: road · husband · blockquote · #552: effect · wanted · probably · especially

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: ef‧fect

Noun

effect n ‎(plural effecten, diminutive effectje n)

  1. effect

Middle French

Alternative forms

  • effaict

Noun

effect m (plural effects)

  1. effect

Descendants

Old French

Noun

effect m ‎(oblique plural effecz or effectz, nominative singular effecz or effectz, nominative plural effect)

  1. effect
  2. (law) judgment; decree
    • punir les contrevenantz solonc l’effect des estatut
      Punish the offender according to the decree of the statute

Descendants

Etymology

For noun: from Old French effect (French: effet), from Latin effectus ‎(“an effect, tendency, purpose”), from efficiō ‎(“accomplish, complete, effect”); see effect as a verb.

For verb: partly from Latin effectus, perfect passive participle of efficiō ‎(“accomplish, complete, do, effect”), from ex ‎(“out”) + faciō ‎(“do, make”) – see fact and compare affect, infect – and partly from the noun effect.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˈfɛkt/
  • Rhymes: -ɛkt

Similar Results