side effect

noun

variants also side reaction
Definition of side effectnext
as in ramification

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of side effect Her delirium was probably a side effect of her medication, Golding says. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 Tony Lo Sasso, a health economist at the University of Wisconsin, worries this side effect could spread. — Alex Olgin, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026 And yet this metafictional doubling—in which people appear simultaneously as themselves and with a set of fictional flourishes—has the side effect of undermining the discursive conceit of the text. — Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026 The Price Discovery Question Continuous trading creates a useful side effect. — Malana Vantyler, jsonline.com, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for side effect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for side effect
  1. ramification
  2. aftereffect
  3. complexity
  4. convolution
  5. complication
Noun
  • The commission’s guidelines have significant ramifications for technologies that could strengthen global food security, but the body is slow, underfunded, and controversial.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The ramifications extend beyond the movement of consumer goods.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of ramification
Noun
  • The opportunity to work with Metzler again was at the top of the LuckyChap team’s list of reasons to produce the series, but there’s also a more meaningful aftereffect.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Many of our heroic Vietnam War veterans have continued to suffer the aftereffects of exposure to Agent Orange during their service.
    — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026
Definition of aftereffect
Noun
  • If physical gestures serve our relatives just fine, why did our own branch of the family tree gradually favor biological changes in our brains and anatomy that permitted our characteristic complexities in language and precision in speech?
    — Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Beyond bergamot, bitter grapefruit contrasts with warm amber and musk, while petitgrain and earthy vetiver add complexity.
    — Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of complexity
Noun
  • Because of this, the resulting code tends to exhibit redundancy and convolution and to lack a unified engineering standard.
    — Ihor Hamal, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In their alternating waves of resentment and understanding, anger and sorrow, D’Arcy and Cooke imbue Rhaenyra and Alicent’s dynamic with all the weight of this history and none of its convolutions.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 15 June 2026
Definition of convolution
Noun
  • After 9-year-old foster child Jakob Blodgett died from diabetes complications at an Arizona group home, the state issued a violation but imposed no fines or license penalties.
    — Jacques Billeaud, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In addition to the Pennsylvania deaths, three others died of complications related to measles in 2025.
    — Erika Edwards, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of complication

Browse Nearby Words

sided (with)
side effect
side effects
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Cite this Entry

“Side effect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/side%20effect. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on side effect

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about side effect

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