INDEX:
1. to have an effect on someone or something
2. to have a bad effect
3. to have an effect on the way people think or behave
4. the effect that something has
5. something or someone that has an effect on people’s ideas or behaviour
6. having a big effect
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ CHANGE/NOT CHANGE
↑ EFFECTIVE/NOT EFFECTIVE
↑ RESULT
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1. to have an effect on someone or something
▷ have an effect /ˌhæv ən ɪˈfekt ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to make someone or something change in some way, for example by making them better or worse :
▪ For some patients, the treatment has an immediate effect.
have an effect on
▪ What you eat when you are pregnant can have an effect on your baby.
▪ No one knows yet what effects genetically modified foods will have on the environment.
have little/no effect
▪ The government’s policies have so far had little effect in reducing the level of inflation.
▷ have an impact /ˌhæv ən ˈɪmpækt ɒn/ [verb phrase]
if an event, invention, or new idea has an impact on something, it affects it in important ways and causes big changes :
▪ The new management team has clearly had an impact.
have an impact on
▪ It is unlikely that the storms will have much impact on this year’s harvest.
▪ the impact of the Internet on all our lives
have a great/enormous/major etc impact
▪ Einstein’s work on relativity had an enormous impact on the way physics developed.
have little/no impact
▪ At first, the revolution had little impact on the lives of ordinary people.
▷ affect /əˈfekt/ [transitive verb]
to produce a change, for example in the way that something develops or in someone’s situation :
▪ The new tax law doesn’t affect me because I’m a student.
▪ Scientists are investigating the ways in which climate changes affect the ozone layer.
▷ take effect /ˌteɪk ɪˈfekt/ [verb phrase]
if something takes effect, especially a medicine or drug, or a new plan or system, it starts to have an effect :
▪ It will be a while before the government’s new economic policy takes effect.
▪ The dentist gave me an injection that took effect almost immediately, and I didn’t feel a thing.
▷ make a difference /meɪk ə ˈdɪf ə rəns/ [verb phrase]
to have a noticeable effect on a situation :
▪ If everybody helps a little, it really makes a difference.
▪ You can call and complain, but I don’t think it will make any difference.
make a big difference
▪ Just getting a new hairstyle and new outfit made a big difference to my confidence.
▷ impact /ˈɪmpækt/ [transitive verb]
to affect something such as sales or profits - used especially in business and journalism :
▪ How is the growth of e-commerce likely to impact the retail sector?
impact on
▪ Child care is an issue that impacts on a broad cross-section of working women.
2. to have a bad effect
▷ have a bad/serious/harmful etc effect /hæv ə ˌbæd ɪˈfekt/ [verb phrase]
▪ The drug can have a serious effect on the body’s immune system.
have a devastating/disastrous effect
have an extremely bad effect
▪ The war is having a devastating effect on people’s lives.
▷ badly/seriously etc affect /ˌbædli əˈfekt/ [verb phrase]
to have a bad effect on someone or something :
▪ Late nights and lack of sleep can seriously affect your performance at work.
▪ Rescue officials have gone to three villages badly affected by the earthquakes.
▷ be bad for /biː ˈbæd fɔːʳ/ [verb phrase]
to have a bad effect on someone or something :
▪ Changing schools too often can be bad for a child’s social development.
it’s bad for somebody to do something
▪ I think it’s bad for her to spend so much time worrying about him.
▷ take a toll/take its toll /ˌteɪk ə ˈtəʊl, ˌteɪk ɪts ˈtəʊl/ [verb phrase]
to have a serious and harmful effect on something or someone, especially after continuing for a long time :
▪ Years of civil war and drought have taken their toll, and the population of the region is greatly reduced.
take a toll/take its toll on
▪ Bad working conditions eventually take a toll on staff morale.
▷ leave a mark/leave its mark /ˌliːv ə ˈmɑːʳk, ˌliːv ɪts ˈmɑːʳkǁmɑːrk/ [verb phrase]
to have an important and permanent effect on something :
▪ She was only here for a few months, but she certainly left her mark.
leave a mark/leave its mark on
▪ The long dispute has left its mark on the mining industry.
▷ tell /tel/ [intransitive verb]
to have a noticeable and often harmful effect on a person or on a situation :
tell on
▪ The strain of living with her violent husband was telling on Judy.
start/begin to tell
▪ The power of the mayor’s cronies began to tell as the election drew closer.
▷ have a negative impact on /hæv ə ˌnegətɪv ˈɪmpækt ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to affect something in a way that harms it or makes it worse than it was before :
▪ We need to be assured that the new development will not have a negative impact on the local environment.
▪ Last year’s attacks have continued to have a negative impact on the tourist industry this year.
3. to have an effect on the way people think or behave
▷ influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ [transitive verb]
to affect the way someone behaves or thinks :
▪ Don’t let him influence you - make up your own mind.
▪ How much does TV advertising really influence what people buy?
▪ The jury’s verdict was clearly influenced by their sympathy for the defendant.
influence somebody to do something
▪ The prisoner claims he was influenced by his older friends to carry out the crime.
▷ have an influence /ˌhæv ən ˈɪnfluəns/ [verb phrase]
to have a continuing effect on the way that people think or behave :
▪ His ideas are too complicated to have much real influence.
have an influence on
▪ Clearly, the cost of fuel has an influence on what sort of car someone buys.
have a great/important/profound etc influence
▪ Descartes’ ideas have had a profound influence on modern science.
▷ sway /sweɪ/ [transitive verb]
to influence someone when they have not yet definitely decided about something, so that they change their mind :
▪ The court is unlikely to be swayed by those arguments.
▪ Ed’s parents never tried to sway him, but they are happy with the decision he’s made.
be easily swayed
▪ Insecure people are often easily swayed by flattery.
▷ play a part /ˌpleɪ ə ˈpɑːʳt/ [verb phrase]
to be one of the things that has an effect on what someone decides or on what happens :
play a part in
▪ Of course, the pay played some part in my decision to take the job.
play a big/major part
▪ He was to go on to play a major part in the success of the new government.
▷ come into/enter into /ˌkʌm ˈɪntuː, ˌentər ˈɪntuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
if something comes into or enters into a decision, it is one of the things that influences you when you decide or choose something - use this especially in negative sentences :
▪ Try not to let your personal feelings enter into the decision.
▪ An applicant’s age or sex doesn’t come into it - we simply choose the best candidate for the job.
▷ colour British /color American /ˈkʌləʳ/ [transitive verb]
to influence someone’s opinions or decisions, usually in a way that makes them less fair :
▪ Foster’s early experiences in Hollywood colored his views of the entire film industry.
▪ How can he make fair and impartial decisions when political loyalties colour his judgement?
4. the effect that something has
▷ effect /ɪˈfekt/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a change that is caused by something that happens or by something that someone does :
effect of
▪ the harmful effects of smoking
▪ Gail was still recovering from the effects of her operation.
effect on
▪ The study measured the effect of fertilizers on the size of crops.
without much effect
▪ I tried using bleach to remove the stain, but without much effect.
feel the effects of something
▪ I was starting to feel the effects of two nights without much sleep.
▷ side effect /ˈsaɪd ɪˌfekt/ [countable noun]
a bad effect that something can have in addition to its good effects - use this especially about harmful effects that a drug can have :
▪ At higher doses, the most common side effects are nausea and vomiting.
side effect of
▪ One possible side effect of the drug is loss of memory.
▷ impact /ˈɪmpækt/ [singular/uncountable noun]
a big and permanent change that happens as a result of something important :
impact of
▪ the lasting impact of improved education on the country’s economic success
impact on
▪ The Internet’s impact on the way we do business has been remarkable.
▪ The company is trying to lessen the impact of the oil spill on marine life.
▷ influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ [singular/uncountable noun]
the continuing effects that something has on the way that people think or behave, or on the way that things develop :
influence of
▪ The authorities were worried about the influence of Western films and TV programmes.
influence of something on something
▪ The book is about the influence of feminist ideas on American society.
▷ what something does to /ˌwɒt something ˈdʌz tuː/ especially spoken
use this to talk about a bad effect that something has on someone or something :
▪ Do you ever think about what those cigarettes must be doing to your lungs?
▪ Look what the storm has done to the flowers.
▷ the implications /ði ˌɪmplə̇ˈkeɪʃ ə nz/ [plural noun]
the possible effects that something is likely to have in the future :
the implications for
▪ What do you think the implications of the new law will be for small businesses?
have implications
▪ The new treatment will have implications for anyone suffering from an allergy.
wider implications
more important implications, especially ones that people have not yet considered
▪ The case is likely to have wider implications, for example those affecting press freedom.
the implications of
▪ The implications of the committee’s decision are many.
5. something or someone that has an effect on people’s ideas or behaviour
▷ influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ [countable noun]
something that has an effect, especially on the way people think or behave :
▪ The two main influences in a child’s development are the family and the school.
good/bad influence
▪ I think the boys that Todd is hanging around with are a bad influence.
▷ influential /ˌɪnfluˈenʃ ə l◂/ [adjective]
having an important effect on people’s ideas :
▪ Marx was clearly the most influential of all the socialist writers.
highly influential
▪ It is a highly influential art magazine that is widely read by dealers.
influential in doing something
▪ Although she was not a professional politician, her views were influential in shaping government policy.
6. having a big effect
▷ far-reaching /fɑːʳ ˌriːtʃɪŋ/ [adjective]
far-reaching effects/implications/changes/consequences etc
effects, changes etc that are likely to have a big and continuing effect on something :
▪ The court’s decision will have far-reaching implications for the health care industry.