A quick shower

visible effects vs. subtle effects – whether or not the effects are obvious powerful effect vs. minimal/negligible effect – how strong the effect was beneficial effect vs. adverse effect – to describe positive and negative effects main effect vs. side effect – to describe the primary effect or an additional effect
Something can also have/produce results – the preliminary results are the early ones, and after more time passes, you’ll get the final results. Results that obviously exist and can be proved are called concrete/tangible results, and a result that is impossible to avoid is an inevitable result. Results can also be direct or indirect, and the result that you want is called the desired result.

One word that is similar to “result” is “outcome” – it describes a resulting situation. You can try to guess the likely/probable outcome – the logical outcome is the result you would expect, and an unexpected outcome is one you didn’t predict.

Lesson 40 – Quiz

1. 
   An earthquake has caused extensive damage / defects / uproar in the countryside.
   
2. 
   Everyone was surprised by the understated / unexpected / unimpressive outcome of the presidential election.
   
3. 
   Food additives may be one of the critical / elementary / underlying causes of the rising incidence of cancer.
   
4. 
   I'd like to see some concrete / material / stable results from your work - so far, all you've presented are theories.
   
5. 
   New regulations on pollution have unfortunately had a negligible / preliminary / tangible effect on water contamination levels.
   
6. 
   Parents are concerned about the long-span / long-term / long-time effects of kids playing violent video games.
   
7. 
   Paulo Coelho's books have had a profound / reflective / thorough impact on my life.
   
8. 
   The company's financial problems are the inevitable / inflexible / irresistible result of years of poor management.
   
9. 
   The increase in gang violence in the neighborhood is cause for alarm / alert / injury.
   
10. 
    The medication I'm taking has a few unpleasant border / lateral / side effects.
    
11. 
    The singer caused a huge unhappiness / uproar / upset when he announced he was leaving the band.
    
12. 
    We need to find the base / origin / root cause of our employees' lack of motivation.