in effect
258
3.7
- idiom
- /ɪn ɪˈfɛkt/
:
en la práctica
- The terrible rules of segregation are still in effect throughout the South.
- in effect, she said
- in effect became
- in effect created
Without that exercise of freedom, we cannot, in effect, go further.
- Without that exercise of freedom, we cannot, in effect, go further.
- And what Columbus did was, in effect, recreate Pangaea.
- So in effect what it gave me was No Fear.
- So there is still a consciousness of faith, but it's in effect a ruined consciousness.
- I, he didn't try to be my dad, but he wound up in effect, being another dad.
- Maybe they're soft technologies that could be in effect a platform off an IT base.
- They are in effect homeless, but they're staying with others.
- So you have much more freedom being, in effect, A permanent tourist in that country.
- And he said, in effect, we are all doomed to make choices.
- So what we learnt with what we learnt with Glenn Maxwell was she in effect was the recruiter.
Examples
-
It took five days for the Germans to defeat this army, which in effect was Churchill's private army.
-
In effect, you can say that.
-
Without that exercise of freedom, we cannot, in effect, go further.
-
And yet you make all the wrong decisions and you, in effect, defeat yourself.
-
And I saw that my challenge was to describe, in effect, what people could do to help that happen.
-
Your father abandoned you, in effect, when he was sent to prison.
Fiction book (1997) -
Maybe requiring us to come together in this way was, in effect, part of the plan.
Fiction book (1997) -
And, in effect, the ice sheet starts speeding up in its flow toward the ocean.
-
In effect, they become a new superpower.
-
In effect, the new policy will improve working conditions for all employees.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Shows that something is true, often when it is different from what was said
190
3.3
Shows what is true rather than how things appear
172
3.8
It is true in reality even if not officially stated
58
5.7
Existing in reality though not officially recognized
8
3.5
In practice, it is true even if not officially so
Antonyms
How True
∞
1.0
- Formal
8
3.5
258
3.7
- Specialized
434
4.8
69
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + effect
The phrase combines 'in' + 'effect' where 'effect' here has a shifted meaning closer to 'force' or 'operation' (i.e. 'in operation' or 'in force'), so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer the general sense. However, the idiomatic, fixed usage ('in effect' = 'in practice' or 'operational') is a lexicalized usage that may not be fully predictable without exposure, making it partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
In effect comes from the idea of the effect already happening, even if nothing is written down. So it means 'in practice' or 'in reality', that is what is true in everyday life.