Dictionary

side effect en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. An unintended consequence, or secondary result, of any action, in addition to the main or intended consequence of that action.
   • So you go along for a long time / And nothing seems to worry your mind / But what it adds up to / It's the side effect / That finally gets to you / It's the side effect / That finally gets to you 1983, Ashford & Simpson, “Side Effect”, in High-Rise (album):
   • Useful for mild depression but may trigger coronary problems. A positive side effect is that it may actually help with degenerative joint disease symptoms. 2007, Sylvia Escott-Stump, Nutrition and Diagnosis-Related Care:
   • A side effect of this architecture (which was designed only for efficient fabrication) is that it also performs automated repair. 1980, Advanced Automation for Space Missions:
   • The processing of certain raw materials - pulp and paper, oil, and alumina, for example - can have substantial environmental side effects. 1987, Brundtland Report:
2. An unintended consequence, or secondary result, of any action, in addition to the main or intended consequence of that action. ▸ An unintended consequence of a drug or therapy; usually an adverse effect, and not a beneficial one.
   • “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” 2018 May 30, Christine Hauser, quoting Sanofi, “Roseanne Barr’s Ambien Defense Is Disputed: ‘Racism Is Not a Known Side Effect’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
3. An unintended consequence, or secondary result, of any action, in addition to the main or intended consequence of that action. ▸ A change a in state outside of the local environment of the function being called.
   • The Eiffel programming language is somewhat purist in insisting that functions have no side effects.

Forms

Coordinates

aftereffect · aftermath · aftermath · aftermath · aftereffect · aftereffect

Deriveds

side-effect · side-effect-free · side-effecting

Synonyms

by-product · by-product · by-product

Translations (87)

be пабо́чны эфе́кт (unintended consequence of any action) · fi sivuvaikutus (medicine: an adverse effect) · hi दुष्प्रभाव (unintended consequence of any action) · ga fo-iarsma (medicine: an adverse effect) · bg страни́чен ефе́кт (medicine: an adverse effect) · fi sivuvaikutus (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · cs vedlejší účinek (unintended consequence of any action) · ar أَثَر جَانِبِيّ (unintended consequence of any action) · pl efekt uboczny (unintended consequence of any action) · pt efeito colateral (unintended consequence of any action) · ga fo-iarsma (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · ko 부작용 (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · nb bieffekt (unintended consequence of any action) · nl nevenwerking (unintended consequence of any action) · de Nebenwirkung (medicine: an adverse effect) · el παρενέργεια (unintended consequence of any action) · cs vedlejší účinek (medicine: an adverse effect) · it effetto collaterale (unintended consequence of any action) · eo kromefiko (unintended consequence of any action) · cmn 副作用 (unintended consequence of any action) · yi בײַעפֿעקט (unintended consequence of any action) · th ผลข้างเคียง (medicine: an adverse effect) · pl efekt uboczny (medicine: an adverse effect) · uk побі́чний ефе́кт (unintended consequence of any action) · mk нуспојава (unintended consequence of any action) · es efecto secundario (unintended consequence of any action) · ca efecte secundari (unintended consequence of any action) · he תּוֹפָעַת לְוַאי (unintended consequence of any action) · id efek samping (unintended consequence of any action) · ru побо́чный эффе́кт (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · ga fo-iamhairt (medicine: an adverse effect) · ru побо́чное де́йствие (unintended consequence of any action) · ro efect secundar (medicine: an adverse effect) · fr effet de bord (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · nl neveneffect (unintended consequence of any action) · tr yan etki (unintended consequence of any action) · bo ཞོར་རྐྱེན (medicine: an adverse effect) · ca efecte secundari (medicine: an adverse effect) · cmn 副作用 (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · de Nebenwirkung (unintended consequence of any action) · pt efeito colateral (medicine: an adverse effect) · fr effet secondaire (medicine: an adverse effect) · et kõrvalmõju (unintended consequence of any action) · lv blakne (medicine: an adverse effect) · uk побі́чна ді́я (medicine: an adverse effect) · cs vedlejší účinek (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · ja 副作用 (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · ru побо́чный эффе́кт (medicine: an adverse effect) · cy sgileffaith (medicine: an adverse effect) · hu mellékhatás (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · fr effet secondaire (unintended consequence of any action) · sh ну̀спојава (unintended consequence of any action) · sv biverkning (medicine: an adverse effect) · hu mellékhatás (unintended consequence of any action) · fi sivuvaikutus (unintended consequence of any action) · nl nevenwerking (medicine: an adverse effect) · ja 副作用 (medicine: an adverse effect) · hu kísérő jelenség (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · de Nebeneffekt (unintended consequence of any action) · sv biverkan (medicine: an adverse effect) · nn biverknad (medicine: an adverse effect) · nb bivirkning (medicine: an adverse effect) · ru побо́чный эффе́кт (unintended consequence of any action) · fr effet indésirable (medicine: an adverse effect) · de Seiteneffekt (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · sh ну̀спојава (medicine: an adverse effect) · sh nùspojava (medicine: an adverse effect) · hu mellékhatás (medicine: an adverse effect) · sk vedľajší účinok (unintended consequence of any action) · es efecto secundario (medicine: an adverse effect) · uk побі́чна ді́я (unintended consequence of any action) · hi दुष्प्रभाव (medicine: an adverse effect) · sv bieffekt (unintended consequence of any action) · ja 副作用 (unintended consequence of any action) · it effetto collaterale (medicine: an adverse effect) · uk побі́чний ефе́кт (medicine: an adverse effect) · ko 부작용 (medicine: an adverse effect) · ko 부작용 (unintended consequence of any action) · bg страни́чен ефе́кт (unintended consequence of any action) · de Nebeneffekt (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · el παρενέργεια (medicine: an adverse effect) · cmn 副作用 (medicine: an adverse effect) · pl skutek uboczny (unintended consequence of any action) · sh nùspojava (unintended consequence of any action) · bg страни́чен ефе́кт (computing: a state change caused by a function call) · tr yan etki (medicine: an adverse effect) · pl efekt uboczny (computing: a state change caused by a function call)