side effectnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈsaɪd ɪˌfekt/us/ˈsaɪd ɪˌfekt/C1 an unpleasant effect of a drug that happens in addition to the main effect:
Does this drug have any side effects?
C2 an unexpected result of a situation:
A side effect of the new law is that fewer people will take out insurance.
More examples
- His treatment had some nasty side effects.
- A side effect of the rise in house prices is that people are choosing to extend their existing dwellings.
- Nausea is a well-known side effect of this drug.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Medical treatment: symptoms & diagnosis of medical problems
- aerophobia
- amyloid
- asymptomatic
- blood count
- confirmatory
- contraindicated
- contraindication
- CT scan
- diagnose
- diagnosis
- diagnostic
- lacunar
- laparoscopic
- laparoscopy
- prognosis
- prognostic
- prognosticate
- prognostication
- symptom
- vital signs
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