side effect

variants also side reaction
Definition of side effectnext

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 Wellness was not an end goal but rather a helpful side effect of achieving his other purposes. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Fortune, 21 June 2026 That challenges our previous assumption that plague spillover was a side effect of people taking up farming and settling in permanent villages and towns, living closer to each other and to an assortment of animals (and their fleas). ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026 Yet Griffin’s businesses are not doing these things as a public service—that’s a side effect. Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026 Deliciousness is a common side effect. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for side effect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for side effect
Noun
  • The central theme was the figurative — and literal — significance of passing the ball, including asking audience members to ponder what their passing game is like and the ramifications of being a ball hog.
    Vahe Gregorian July 10, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026
  • The justices also avoided a broad ruling that would have had ramifications far beyond the athletic field for transgender rights.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Noun
  • Because there are no other nearby heat generators, that energy must be residual aftereffects of an earlier era.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 July 2026
  • But its costs and aftereffects will likely linger for years.
    Scott Horsley, NPR, 17 June 2026
Noun
  • For years, businesses were tethered to their technology vendors due to fear of business disruption and the complexity of building in-house tools.
    Daniela Sirtori, Fortune, 9 July 2026
  • Its method is both distinguished and derived from nineteenth-century classics, from which Rohmer distills a modernism of variety, ambiguity, complexity, and fragmentation.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • Previous studies have shown that hardware tailored for specific mathematical operations, such as Fourier and convolution transforms, can significantly outperform general-purpose processors.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 13 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Untreated UTIs can lead to dangerous complications like kidney damage, sepsis and even death.
    Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 10 July 2026
  • But bruising is not the only complication patients could face when a nonsurgical beauty treatment goes wrong.
    Michelle Marchante July 10, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Side effect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/side%20effect. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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