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Effect vs Result vs Consequence vs Upshot vs Aftereffect vs Aftermath vs Sequel vs Issue vs Outcome vs Event

Effectresultconsequenceupshotaftereffectaftermathsequelissueoutcomeevent are comparable in signifying something, usually a condition, situation, or occurrence, ascribable to a cause or combination of causes.

Effect is the correlative of the word cause and in general use implies something (as a bodily or social condition or a state of mind) necessarily and directly following upon or occurring by reason of a cause.

Result, close to effect in meaning, implies a direct relationship with an antecedent action or condition, usually suggests an effect that terminates the operation of a cause, and applies more commonly than effect to tangible objects.

Consequence may suggest a direct but looser or more remote connection with a cause than either effect or result , sometimes implying an adverse or calamitous effect and often suggesting a chain of intermediate causes or a complexity of effect.

Upshot often implies a climax or conclusion in a series of consequent occurrences or the most conclusive point of a single complex gradual consequence.

Aftereffect and aftermath both usually designate secondary rather than direct or immediate effects.

Aftereffect besides designating a secondary effect sometimes suggests a side effect but more generally implies an effect ascribable to a previous effect that has become a cause.

Aftermath often suggests a more complex effect or generalized condition than aftereffect and usually carries the notion of belated consequences that appear after the effects, especially disastrous effects, seem to have passed.

Sequel usually signifies a result that follows after an interval.

Issue adds to result the implication of exit or escape (as from difficulties); it therefore usually designates a result that is a solution or a resolution.

Outcome, though often interchangeable with result or issue, may put less stress on the notion of finality than does issue.

Event, which is both uncommon and somewhat archaic in this relation, usually carries the notion of an unpredictable or unforeseeable outcome and comes very close to the related eventuality in its implication of a possible or contingent effect or result.