side effectn.
/ˈsʌɪd ᵻˌfɛkt/, U.S. /ˈsaɪd əˌfɛk(t)/ 1. A secondary, unintended, and typically undesirable effect of an action, situation, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [noun] > undesired or unintended consequence(s) or side-effect
repercussion1603
aftermath1671
ill effect1675
mal-effect1686
side effect1814
wrack1844
implication1873
backwash1876
katzenjammer1897
backlash1921
kickback1935
spillover1940
fallout1954
rub-off1962
booby prize1972
own goal1975
1814 Monthly Repository Theol. & Gen. Lit. Nov. 679/2 It is more consonant to our feelings and common sense of things, to suppose that such case was not object of provident scheme, but side effect of instituted operant principle.
1884 B. Bosanquet et al. tr. H. Lotze Metaphysic 435 The view that all psychical life is a side-effect [Ger. Nebeneffect] of the physical process of formation.
1933 E. Blunden Mind's Eye (1934) i. 59 Here the side-effects of the quarrels south of the Canal..were felt and paid for in some casualties.
1974 ‘D. Craig’ Whose Little Girl are You? ii. 23 A side effect of sobriety he had found to be deadly fatigue.
2011 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 9 Mar. 2 b The inevitable side effect of government cuts is that the economy will contract further.
2. Medicine. An effect (usually for the worse) of a drug or treatment other than that for which it is administered. Often in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment by medicine or drug > [noun] > effects of medicines or drugs
side effect1868
placebo effect1902
tachyphylaxis1911
side action1933
nocebo effect1961
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders caused by poisons > [noun] > by drugs > side effect
side effect1868
1868 U.S. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. Oct. 23 Some side-effects, which are caused by the lower dilutions, may not appear from high potencies.
1939 H. N. G. Wright & M. L. Montag Textbk. Materia Med. Pharmacol. & Therapeutics x. 112 The effects which are not desired in any particular case are referred to as ‘side effects’ or ‘side actions’ and, in some instances, these may be so powerful as to limit seriously the therapeutic usefulness of the drug.
1952 Chambers's Jrnl. June 384 A new alkaloid, built to the same molecular pattern, but with slight modifications, has been synthesised; it is equally anti-malarial but its side-effects are less toxic.
1980 A. Clare Psychiatry in Dissent (ed. 2) vi. 254 The most widely publicized side-effect of ECT [= electroconvulsive therapy] is associated memory disturbance.
2013 Daily Tel. 20 June 32/1 She suffered the side effects of taking tranquilisers bought off the internet.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1814