The Difference Between “Affect” and “Effect”

The difference between “affect” and “effect” can be hard to remember even for experienced writers, but it’s a very important distinction. Here’s a quick review of the most common definitions of each and a simple way to remember which is which. 

“Affect” is a verb, or an action word, meaning “to influence” or “produce a change in.” For example:

• I was surprised at how strongly that movie affected me.

• Adding fertilizer really affected my tomato plants.

• The current policies affect us all negatively. 

“Effect,” on the other hand, is a noun, or a “thing” word, meaning “outcome” or “impression.” For example:

• I really like the effect of the new lamp in the living room. 

• It’s too early to see what kind of effects the new vitamins are having. 

• The growth of the snake population has had a major effect on the number of rodents in the environment. 

Because these words are so close in spelling and meaning, it’s very common to have trouble remembering the appropriate use. One simple way is to remember that “affect” and “action” both start with A—meaning “affect” is the verb, or the action word, so “effect” is the noun. Another approach is RAVEN: 

• Remember

• Affect

• Verb

• Effect

• Noun

Now, these are the most common definitions for each word and should be sufficient for most types of writing. However, just to further the confusion (English is weird), there are other uses that apply to more specialized texts, such as psychology. For more on these alternate definitions, see https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effect and https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affect and scroll down to entries 2 and beyond.