Compare affect vs effect | Difference
Compare it Versus > Grammar > affect or effect, what is the difference in the meaning?
First published on 4th of March 2015, updated 2nd January 2023
Edited by Mary S., secondary school English teacher
Affect and effect are homophones, meaning they sound very similar but mean different things.
This can cause a lot of confusion.
Affect is a verb, which is used to indicate a change or the fact that there is an influence of one factor over the other.
Effect is used as a noun wherein it refers to the outcome or impact of something.
Let’s look at it all a bit more closely.
Contents
What is the difference between affect and effect?
They may sound similar, but the words are very different.
Effect and affect are examples of homophones in the English language.
Another example of homophones is already vs already.
What are homophones?
Much of the confusion between affect and effect arises from the fact that the two words are homophones, meaning they sound very similar but mean different things.
One of the best ways to differentiate affect and effect from the other entails understanding what they mean and how they are applied in English Language.
This difference is best explained through the following phrase:
Remember Affect Verb Effect Noun. (R-A-V-E-N, use this mnemonic as a handy way to remember)
Meaning of affect
Affect is a verb, meaning an action word, which is used to indicate a change or the fact that there is an influence of one factor over the other.
When someone or something is influenced, the condition is described by the word affect rather than the cause of the change, for example, in the following examples:
Global recession affects employment prospects of IT professionals.
Your loud voice really affected me when I was trying to learn my lecture notes.
There are times when affect can be used as noun too in a limited way. It often pertains to a situation when facial expressions come into play, for example:
The elderly gentleman afflicted with Alzheimer’s had a lost affect.
Affect can also act as a verb which means to pretend and can serve as a root for several of its derivatives like unaffected, disaffected, affection and affectation.
Meaning of effect
Effect is used as a noun wherein it refers to the outcome or impact of something, for example:
What was the effect of the heavy rainfall last month?
I have that effect on you.
Mostly preceded by articles a, an and the, sometimes effect can be used as a verb too. Some of its derivative words are aftereffect, effective and effectual.
Differentiating the two
In addition to the above obvious difference in the meaning and the RAVEN mnemonic, there is another method of making a mental note of the differences between the two.
We look at the alphabetical order of the two words.
So, affect comes first since it starts with ‘a’ and refers to an action taking place. Effect starts with an ‘e’ and hence comes later in the alphabet, thus referring to the result or outcome which always follows an action.
Do you have anything to add to our affect vs effect meaning comparison?
Do you have any tips to remember how to differentiate the two?
Let us know below.
References
- Cambridge Dictionary, accessed in January 2023, link to Cambridge homepage here
- Acronym Finder, accessed in December 2022, link to acronym page here
I can honestly say that I am one of the guilty parties that switches these two words around. It also did not help in school when every one kept on saying Affect is a Verb, Effect is a Noun. I then had to first sit and think what is a Verb or a Noun again? I recently learned from my daughter they remember it like this now Affect is a cause while Effect is a result. I personally think that people created so many different words to compensate these two words – just to spare themselves the humiliation when they switch it around…. Then again with so many people struggling with the words a few of us would actually know. 🙂