Meanings
nounadverse effect (plural adverse effects)
plural adverse effects
- sciencesA side effect with negative (deleterious) consequences rather than positive (beneficial) ones; especially, such an effect in pharmacology.
Antonyms: desired effect
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA side effect with negative (deleterious) consequences rather than positive (beneficial) ones; especially, such an effect in pharmacology.
Opposite
Translations
Finnish haittavaikutus, sivuvaikutus
- haittavaikutusside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
- sivuvaikutusside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
German unerwünschte Wirkung, unerwünschte Arzneimittelwirkung
- unerwünschte Wirkungside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
- unerwünschte Arzneimittelwirkungside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
Hindi दुष्प्रभाव
- दुष्प्रभाव (duṣprabhāv)side-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
Polish skutek uboczny
- skutek ubocznyside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
Russian вре́дный побо́чный эффе́кт
- вре́дный побо́чный эффе́кт (vrédnyj pobóčnyj effékt)side-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
Vietnamese tác dụng có hại
- tác dụng có hạiside-effect, especially a negative one in pharmacology
Cite this entry
APA
adverse effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adverse%20effect
MLA
“adverse effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adverse%20effect. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adverse effect,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adverse%20effect.
Source: adverse effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.