side effect

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Noun 1.1.1 Synonyms 1.1.2 Translations

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Noun

side effect (plural side effects)

1. An unintended consequence of any action in addition to the intended consequence of that action.
   • 1987, Brundtland Report:

     The processing of certain raw materials - pulp and paper, oil, and alunina, for example - can have substantial environmental side effects.

   • 1980, Advanced Automation for Space Missions:

     A side effect of this architecture (which was designed only for efficient fabrication) is that it also perform automated repair.

   • 2007, Sylvia Escott-Stump, Nutrition and Diagnosis-Related Care^[1]:

     Useful for mild depression but may trigger coronary problems. A positive side effect is that it may actually help with degenerative joint disease symptoms.

2. (medicine) An adverse effect, an unintended consequence of a drug or therapy; usually not a beneficial effect.
3. (computing) A change in state caused by a function call (typically "side-effect").

   Eiffel is somewhat purist about insisting that functions have no side effects.

[edit] Synonyms

• by-product

[edit] Translations