Webster's English Dictionary

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effect

Cross references:
  1. perform               
 
1. ef.fect \i-'fekt\ n [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L effectus, fr. effectus, 
   pp. of effice]re to bring about, fr. ex- + facere to make, do 1: something 
   produced by an agent or cause : RESULT  2a: PURPORT, INTENT  2b: basic 
   meaning : ESSENCE  3: an outward sign : APPEARANCE  4: ACCOMPLISHMENT, 
   FULFILLMENT  5: REALITY, FACT  6: power to bring about a result : INFLUENCE 
    pl  7: movable property : GOODS  8a: a distinctive impression  8b: the 
   creation of a desired impression  9: the quality or state of being 
   operative : OPERATION , OUTCOME mean a condition or occurrence traceable to 
   a cause. EFFECT may be chosen to designate only those factors in a complex 
   situation that may be definitely attributed to a known and immediate cause; 
   CONSEQUENCE implies a looser or remoter connection with a cause and usu. 
   implies that the cause is no longer operating; RESULT applies often to the 
   last in a series of effects; an EVENT is a result that cannot be foreseen 
   or is at least partly determined by conditions beyond human control; an 
   ISSUE is often a result that provides an ending or solving of a difficulty; 
   an OUTCOME is the final result of complex or conflicting causes or forces 
   SYN syn EFFECT, CONSEQUENCE, RESULT, EVENT, ISSUE 
2. effect vt 1: to bring about : ACCOMPLISH  2: PRODUCE, MAKE  - ef.fect.er 
   n