The Ghouls' Review Summer/Fall 2015 | Page 36

Abracadabra! Adressing Affect vs. Effect
Sue Archer

I

recently attended an international editors’ conference where Peter Sokolowski
(editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster) advised that the words affect and effect are the
most looked-up words in their online dictionary.

I call these types of words “rogue words.” These slippery
tricksters give us all sorts of spelling grief. But they can be
mastered.
The most important thing to remember is that affect with
an “a” is usually a verb, while effect with an “e” is usually a noun.
Let’s look at these most common usages first.
Affect as a Verb
One meaning of affect is “to pretend, feign, or assume a
characteristic.”
Albert the magician affected an air of confidence as he prepared
to cast, but in truth, his insides were trembling.
The second (and most common) meaning of affect is “to influence
or have an effect on.”

© Malchev

More than anything, Albert wanted his spell to affect the red-haired woman in the front row.
He yearned to hear her declare her undying love for him.
Effect as a Noun
There are three main ways that effect is used as a noun.
One usage is the bizarre term “personal effects” to describe the things you keep in your
purse or pockets.
Esmeralda wondered why the magician had needed one of her personal effects to perform
a simple stage illusion.
Another meaning comes up a lot in stage work and movies:
As the magician waved his wand and chanted some words, Esmeralda waited for all the
sound and light effects to kick in. Nothing happened.
The most common meaning of effect is “result or consequence.” Affecting something means
you have an influence on it (like a magician’s influence on another person). The result of this
influence is an effect (like a declaration of love). Which brings us to…
Albert looked expectantly at the woman to see the effect of his spell.
36

The Ghouls’ Review