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“Affect” or “Effect”

affect / effect are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

affect ah·f·EH·k·t

  • nounthe conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion.
  • verbhave an effect upon.
  • verbact physically on; have an effect upon.
  • verbhave an emotional or cognitive impact upon.

effect ih·f·EH·k·t

  • nounan impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived).
  • nounthe central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work.
  • noun(of a law) having legal validity.
  • nouna symptom caused by an illness or a drug.
  • verbproduce.
  • verbact so as to bring into existence.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“affect”

  • …damages in the Russian Federation affect about 9 million ha).
  • : How Free Rides can affect your Individual Retirement Account.
  • …anthropogenic threats that can significantly affect Nothomyrmecia include habitat destruction and…
  • …and is not expected to affect operations.
  • …as the attributes do not affect the image.
  • …between authors, they do not affect the essential properties of the
  • …that "His age did not affect the freshness of his mind,…
  • This provision was not to affect the ordinary legal rights of…
  • This will likely affect the resource productivity and inventory
  • …heat and water absorption may affect the structure of the grains,…

“effect”

  • Results revealed a spreading attitude effect; people made to smile (unconsciously)…
  • Differential effect of aneuploidy on the X…
  • …emotional state, rather than an effect; instead of smiling because they…
  • …the hostilities before going into effect.
  • …as Returning Officer also took effect on 1 June 2010.
  • …component such as a field effect transistor.
  • Under nouns, she investigates the effect of adjectives, plurality in the…
  • As an effect the complicated fiscal division of…
  • …canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015.
  • …prisoner deaths had a negative effect on Finland's international reputation.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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