Difference Wiki

Affect vs. Effect

The main difference between Affect and Effect is that the Affect is commonly known as a verb, which means "to influence," whereas Effect is typically used as a noun which says "as a result, consequently."

Key Differences

The verb affect means "to influence" in contrast, the noun effect says "as a result, consequently."
The pronunciation of affect is [uh-fekt] with A-sound at the beginning. The effect is pronounced as [ih-fekt] with I-sound at the beginning.
Samantha Walker
Apr 07, 2016
The different words with having the word 'affect' as the root are affection, affectation, disaffected, and unaffected, while effect acts as a root word in the following words aftereffect, effectual, and effective.
The word affect acts more commonly as a verb and less often as a noun, whereas the word effect works as a noun, but sometimes it also acts as a verb.
The word affect is derived from the Latin verb 'afficere,' which means "to have an influence on or to do something to..." whereas the word effect originates from the Latin verb 'efficere,' which means "to make or to carry out."

Comparison Chart

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The verb affect means "to influence,"
The noun effect means "as a result, consequently."
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Parts of Speech

Mostly a verb, sometimes a noun
Chiefly a noun, sometimes a verb

Pronunciation

[uh-fekt]
[ih-fekt]

Origin

From the Latin verb 'afficere,' which means "to have an influence on or to do something to..."
From the Latin verb 'efficere,' which means "to make or to carry out."

Word Derivatives

Affection, affectation, disaffected, and unaffected
Aftereffect, effectual, and effective
Aimie Carlson
Apr 07, 2016

Affect and Effect Definitions

Affect

To have an influence on or effect a change in
Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.

Effect

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

To act on the emotions of; touch or move.

Effect

The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result
The government's action had little effect on the trade imbalance.

Affect

To attack or infect, as a disease
Rheumatic fever can affect the heart.

Effect

Advantage; avail
Used her words to great effect in influencing the jury.

Affect

To put on a false show of; simulate
Affected a British accent.

Effect

The condition of being in full force or execution; operativeness
A new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow.
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Affect

To have or show a liking for
Affects dramatic clothes.

Effect

Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention
The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama.

Affect

(Archaic) To fancy; love.

Effect

A particular impression
Large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness.

Affect

To tend to by nature; tend to assume
A substance that affects crystalline form.

Effect

Production of a desired impression
Spent lavishly on dinner just for effect.

Affect

To imitate; copy
"Spenser, in affecting the ancients, writ no language" (Ben Jonson).

Effect

The basic or general meaning; import
He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect.

Affect

Feeling or emotion, especially as manifested by facial expression or body language
"The soldiers seen on television had been carefully chosen for blandness of affect" (Norman Mailer).

Effect

Effects Movable belongings; goods.

Affect

(Obsolete) A disposition, feeling, or tendency.

Effect

To bring about; make happen; cause or accomplish
Effect a cure for a disease.
Effect a change in policy. See Usage Note at affect1.

Affect

(transitive) To influence or alter.
The experience affected me deeply.
The heat of the sunlight affected the speed of the chemical reaction.

Effect

The result or outcome of a cause.
The effect of the hurricane was a devastated landscape.

Affect

(transitive) To move to emotion.
He was deeply affected by the tragic ending of the play.

Effect

Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.

Affect

Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body).
Hepatitis affects the liver.

Effect

Execution; performance; realization; operation.

Affect

To dispose or incline.

Effect

(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.

Affect

To tend to by affinity or disposition.

Effect

An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")
The effect of flying was most convincing.

Affect

To assign; to appoint.

Effect

(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.

Affect

To burden (property) with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction.

Effect

A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.
Doppler effect

Affect

(transitive) To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of.
To affect ignorance
To affect a British accent
He managed to affect a smile despite feeling quite miserable.

Effect

Belongings, usually as personal effects.

Affect

To aim for, to try to obtain.

Effect

Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to.

Affect

To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of.

Effect

(obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.

Affect

To show a fondness for (something); to choose.

Effect

(obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign.

Affect

(psychology) A subjective feeling experienced in response to a thought or other stimulus; mood, emotion, especially as demonstrated in external physical signs.

Effect

(transitive) To make or bring about; to implement.
The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders.

Affect

(obsolete) One's mood or inclination; mental state.

Effect

Misspelling of affect

Affect

(obsolete) A desire, an appetite.

Effect

Execution; performance; realization; operation; as, the law goes into effect in May.
That no compunctious visitings of natureShake my fell purpose, nor keep peace betweenThe effect and it.

Affect

To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon.
As might affect the earth with cold heat.
The climate affected their health and spirits.

Effect

Manifestation; expression; sign.
All the large effectsThat troop with majesty.

Affect

To influence or move, as the feelings or passions; to touch.
A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles.

Effect

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.

Affect

To love; to regard with affection.
As for Queen Katharine, he rather respected than affected, rather honored than loved, her.

Effect

Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
Patchwork . . . introduced for oratorical effect.
The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.

Affect

To show a fondness for; to like to use or practice; to choose; hence, to frequent habitually.
For he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for it, indeed.
Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great.

Effect

Power to produce results; efficiency; force; importance; account; as, to speak with effect.

Affect

To dispose or incline.
Men whom they thought best affected to religion and their country's liberty.

Effect

Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; - with to.
They spake to her to that effect.

Affect

To aim at; to aspire; to covet.
This proud man affects imperial way.

Effect

The purport; the sum and substance.

Affect

To tend to by affinity or disposition.
The drops of every fluid affect a round figure.

Effect

Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
No other in effect than what it seems.

Affect

To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume; as, to affect ignorance.
Careless she is with artful care,Affecting to seem unaffected.
Thou dost affect my manners.

Effect

Goods; movables; personal estate; - sometimes used to embrace real as well as personal property; as, the people escaped from the town with their effects.
Resolving all events, with their effectsAnd manifold results, into the willAnd arbitration wise of the Supreme.
Shun the bitter consequence, for know,The day thou eatest thereof, . . . thou shalt die.

Affect

To assign; to appoint.
One of the domestics was affected to his special service.

Effect

To produce, as a cause or agent; to cause to be.
So great a body such exploits to effect.

Affect

Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition.

Effect

To bring to pass; to execute; to enforce; to achieve; to accomplish.
To effect that which the divine counsels had decreed.
They sailed away without effecting their purpose.

Affect

The emotional complex associated with an idea or mental state. In hysteria, the affect is sometimes entirely dissociated, sometimes transferred to another than the original idea.

Effect

A phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon;
The magnetic effect was greater when the rod was lengthwise
His decision had depressing consequences for business
He acted very wise after the event

Affect

The conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion

Effect

An outward appearance;
He made a good impression
I wanted to create an impression of success
She retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting

Affect

Have an effect upon;
Will the new rules affect me?

Effect

(of a law) having legal validity;
The law is still in effect

Affect

Act physically on; have an effect upon

Effect

A symptom caused by an illness or a drug;
The effects of sleep loss
The effect of the anesthetic

Affect

Connect closely and often incriminatingly;
This new ruling affects your business

Effect

An impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived);
He just did it for effect

Affect

Make believe with the intent to deceive;
He feigned that he was ill
He shammed a headache

Effect

The central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

Affect

Have an emotional or cognitive impact upon;
This child impressed me as unusually mature
This behavior struck me as odd

Effect

Produce;
The scientists set up a shockwave

Effect

Act so as to bring into existence;
Effect a change

Affect vs. Effect

The word affect is derived from the Latin verb ‘afficere,which means “to have an influence on or to do something to…” The word effect originates from the Latin verb ‘efficere’ which means “to make or to carry out.” Affect is commonly known as a verb. The effect is typically used as a noun. The verb affect means “to influence,” whereas the noun effect says “as a result, consequently.” The pronunciation of affect is [uh-fekt] with A-sound at the beginning. The effect is pronounced as [ih-fekt] with I-sound at the beginning.

Affect can also mean “to act in a way which you don’t really feel,” e.g., ‘John has affected an air of superiority.’ Effect conveys the meaning of “an outcome or result of something,” e.g., the effect of the medicine was positive. The different words with having the word ‘affect’ as the root are affection, affectation, disaffected, and unaffected. Effect acts as a root word in the following words aftereffect, effectual, and effective. The word affect acts more commonly as a verb and less often as a noun. The word effect works as a noun, but sometimes it also acts as a verb in formal situations.

What is Affect?

Affect is a verb or an action word. It means “to act on or to produce a change.” For example, “the cold weather affected the crops.” Another meaning of the verb affect is “to influence the mind or change the feelings,” e.g., “The slow melody affected his mood.” It is also used as a noun in a situation when referring to someone’s facial expressions, e.g., ‘The lady’s expressions had a neutral affect.’ Affect is rarely used as a noun in a psychological context to describe an emotion, e.g., “A gloomy affect can be a symptom of depression.”

There are some other words that are created by using the word affect as the root. Such as the word affection, which is a noun that means “kind of warm emotion,” e.g., “My mother has great affection for her grandchildren.” Another such word is disaffected, which is an adjective that means “discontented or rebellious.” The third root word with the word affect is “unaffected” (adjective), which conveys the meaning “not bothered or influenced,” e.g., the people seem unaffected by the traffic rules. The word affectionate, which means ‘kind or loving’ is also having the same root word affect.

Examples

  • The weather conditions are going to affect the residents of this area.
  • I am confused about why did the man take the news of her wife’s accident with little affect.
  • Corruption by a single employee can affect the credibility of all the workers.
  • Your suggestions will not affect my decision to become a photographer.
  • Smoking tobacco severely affects the lungs and the blood flow.

What is the Effect?

The effect is commonly used as a noun that means “as a result, consequently,” e.g. ‘Her sunburn was an effect of frequent sunbathing.’ The use of this word effect is also seen as a verb, but that use is less common, e.g., “She effected her test score by studying hard.” The noun effect is also used in the context of filming, pictures, and videos. It refers to “the light variations, sound, or scenery.” That are used in that film, video, or photo. It derives from a Latin word ‘efficere,‘ which means “to make or to carry out.” The phrase with the word effect is ‘effect change.’

Some of the words with having affect as a root word are given. They are aftereffect (noun) that means “something that follows a cause,” e.g. ‘The aftereffects of the flood were very severe.” Effective (adjective) means “successful,” e.g., “The spray was very effective to kill the insects.” The word effectual (adjective) means “able to give the desired effect.” The word efficiency (noun) and efficient (adjective) are related to the word effect, but they are not based on the root effect. However, they have similar etymology and meaning. Efficacy and efficacious are also related words with efficient.

Examples

  • This medicine has the side effect of blurred vision.
  • The lousy company is always having an adverse effect.
  • A sound and average of eight-hour sleep have a good effect on your day.
  • The media has a significant effect on public mindsets and opinions.
  • The movie was created by special effects.

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