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Definition of in effect in English:

in effect

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phrase

  • 1In operation; in force.

    ‘a moratorium in effect since 1985 has been lifted’
    • ‘My computer is informing me that legal locks are in effect and I can't fire my gun.’
    • ‘I find that she was fully aware that the contract was in effect and binding on her.’
    • ‘Stephenson, on the other hand, thought that a contract must be in effect during the transfer.’
    • ‘The fact is, a very real program is in effect, and its goal is control of the human race!’
    be in force, be in operation, act, stand, apply, be applied, run, be valid, remain valid, be current, function, be efficacious, hold good, be the case, be the order of the day, obtain, hold, be the case, be prevalent, prevail, pertain, be established
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    1. 1.1Used to convey that something is the case in practice even if it is not formally acknowledged to be so.
      ‘additional payments that are in effect an entrance tax’
      • ‘To adopt the petitioner's approach allows me to in effect reassess the costs of the motion.’
      • ‘There was no argument about that, that it was not a payment, in effect, by the company.’
      • ‘An inflexible rule protecting such uses would in effect allow the creation of servitudes.’
      • ‘There is no doubt that this judge, in effect, started pretty close to the top and worked his way down.’
      • ‘As to the way in which he conducted his practice he said initially, in effect, that he took no attendance notes.’
      • ‘It has allowed British Cycling to establish what is, in effect, a professional team.’
      • ‘The new system of Payment by Results instituted what was in effect merit pay for teachers.’
      • ‘In fact, we are about to spend several hundred pages in effect defining advertising.’
      • ‘In effect, it is operating as a commercial company but with the cushion against failure provided by the licence fee.’
      • ‘In effect, this would result in pensions being actuarially reduced for early payment.’
      really, in reality, in truth, in fact, in actual fact, effectively, essentially, in essence, virtually, practically, in practical terms, for all practical purposes, to all intents and purposes, in all but name, all but, as good as, more or less, as near as dammit, almost, nearly, well nigh, nigh on, just about
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