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consequence

nounverbcommon in dialogue

  • United Kingdom//ˈkɒn.sɪ.kwəns//
  • United States//ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns//
  • United States//ˈkɑn.sɪˌkwɛns//
  • Canada//ˈkɒn.sɪ.kwəns//
  • Canada//ˈkɒn.sɪˌkwɛns//

An effect; something that follows a cause as a result.

noun

  1. 1

    An effect; something that follows a cause as a result.

    The lobule margins, furthermore, are arched away from the lobe, with the consequence that (when fully inflated) the abaxial leaf surface forms the interior lining of the lobule.

  2. 2

    An effect; something that follows a cause as a result. An unwanted or unpleasant effect.

    I'm warning you. If you don't get me the report on time, there will be consequences.

    Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent, with the consequences of climate change potentially accelerating the demand.

  3. 3

    consecution; chain of causes and effects.

  4. 4

    conclusion, deduction or inference; the thing concluded.

  5. 5

    Importance, influence, or significance.

    My opinions are of no consequence whatsoever to my parents.

    Thus young Pen, the only son of an estated country gentleman, with a good allowance, and a gentlemanlike bearing and person, looked to be a lad of much more consequence than he was really; and was held by the Oxbridge authorities, tradesmen, and undergraduates, as quite a young buck and member of the aristocracy.

    Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.

Etymology

From Middle English consequence, from Old French consequence, from Latin consequentia. While analysable as con- + sequence, its adjective form has a different origin.

verb

  1. 1

    To threaten or punish (a child, etc.) with specific consequences for misbehaviour.

    The goal of consequencing is to teach the child a lesson that leads to positive choices and behaviors. The goal of punishment is to inflict pain and seek revenge. Angry parenting is punitive and ineffectual.

    These behaviours are not acceptable within a classroom setting and often result in the child being consequenced or removed from class.

Forms

plural
consequences
past tense
consequenced
past participle
consequenced
present participle
consequencing
third person singular
consequences
The neighbouring pagesAlphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.

Lexical content from Wiktionary, under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source entry · Data version 2026-08-23

Rank among the words of the OpenSubtitles 2018 corpus — film and television subtitles, so spoken rather than written usage (CC BY-SA 3.0).