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Reflect vs Effect - What's the difference?

reflect | effect |

As verbs the difference between reflect and effect

is that reflect is to bend back (light, etc) from a surface while effect is to make or bring about; to implement.

As a noun effect is

the result or outcome of a cause see below .

reflect

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface.
  • A mirror reflects the light that shines on it.
  • To be bent back (light, etc.) from a surface.
  • The moonlight reflected from the surface of water.
  • To mirror, or show the image of something.
  • The shop window reflected his image as he walked past.
  • To be mirrored.
  • His image reflected from the shop window as he walked past.
  • To agree with; to closely follow.
  • Entries in English dictionaries aim to reflect common usage.
  • To give evidence of someone's or something's character etc.
  • The team's victory reflects the Captain's abilities.
    The teacher's ability reflects well on the school.
  • *
  • With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get
  • (senseid) To think seriously; to ponder or consider.
  • People do that sort of thing every day, without ever stopping to reflect on the consequences.
  • * 1985 , , Option Lock , page 229:
  • Not for the first time, he reflected that it was not so much the speeches that strained the nerves as the palaver that went with them.

    Synonyms

    * See also
    Derived terms
    * reflective * reflexion * unreflective * nonreflective * reflectorize

    effect

    English

    (wikipedia effect)

    Noun

  • The result or outcome of a cause. See below.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect , and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […]  The bed was the most extravagant piece.  Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Obama goes troll-hunting , passage=The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.}}
  • Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
  • * J. C. Shairp
  • patchwork introduced for oratorical effect
  • * Washington Irving
  • The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.
  • (filmology) An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")
  • (sound engineering) An alteration in sound after it has been produced by an instrument.
  • (sound engineering) A device for producing an alteration in sound produced by an instrument.
  • Execution; performance; realization; operation.
  • * Shakespeare
  • That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / The effect and it.
  • # (uncountable) The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law.
  • A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.
  • (usually plural) Belongings, usually as personal effects.
  • Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to .
  • * Bible, Chron. xxxiv. 22
  • They spake to her to that effect .
  • (obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
  • * Denham
  • no other in effect than what it seems
  • (obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign.
  • * Shakespeare
  • All the large effects / That troop with majesty.

    Usage notes

    The words “affect” and “effect'” can both be used as nouns or verbs, but when used as a noun the word affect is limited to uses in the psychology field, and the above definitions for ' effect are much more common. See also the usage notes as a verb below. Adjectives often applied to "effect": * biological, chemical, cultural, economic, legal, mental, moral, nutritional, personal, physical, physiological, political and social * actual, bad, beneficial, catastrophic, deleterious, disastrous, devastating, fatal, good, harmful, important, intended, likely, natural, negative, positive, potential, primary, real, secondary, significant, special, strong, undesirable and weak

    Derived terms

    (noun phrases using effect) * after-effect, aftereffect * butterfly effect * domino effect * Doppler effect * greenhouse effect * in effect * knock-on effect * Nader effect * personal effects * ripple effect * side effect * snowball effect * special effect * sound effect * spoiler effect

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make or bring about; to implement.
  • The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders.
  • Usage notes

    Effect' is often confused with “' affect ”. The latter is used to convey the influence over existing ideas, emotions and entities; the former indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities: * “...new governing coalitions have effected major changes” indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions. * “...new governing coalitions have affected major changes” indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over these existing changes.

    Statistics

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