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"
a symptom caused by an illness or a drug
"the effects of sleep loss"
"the effect of the anesthetic"
The result or outcome of a cause.
"The heavy rain had an immediate effect on traffic, causing long delays on the highway."
In plain English: An effect is the result that happens because of something else.
"The new policy had an immediate effect on student attendance."
Usage: Use "effect" as a noun to describe the result or outcome of an action or cause. Commonly paired with words like "have," "see," or "achieve," it answers the question of what happened because something else occurred.
To make or bring about; to implement.
"The new manager decided to effect immediate changes in the company's safety protocols as soon as she took office."
In plain English: To effect something means to make it happen or bring it about.
"The new policy will affect everyone in the company."
Usage: Use "effect" as a verb when you mean to cause something to happen, such as effecting change or implementing a plan. Remember that this usage is formal and distinct from the more common noun form referring to a result.
The noun "effect" entered Middle English from the Old French effect, which came from the Latin effectus meaning "an accomplishment or result." This word replaced the native Old English term for influence because it carried a clearer sense of something being brought about or completed.