# affect vs effect

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### affect
*verb · IPA /əˈfɛkt/ · frequency rank #2,510*
To influence or alter.

### effect
*noun · IPA /ɪˈfɛkt/ · frequency rank #1,015*
The result or outcome of a cause.

## How to tell them apart
“Affect” is almost always the verb — to affect something is to influence it. “Effect” is almost always the noun — an effect is the result. (Each has a rarer flip side: “effect” can be a verb meaning to bring about, and “affect” a noun in psychology.)

## Memory trick
A is for Action (affect = verb); E is for End result (effect = noun).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/affect-vs-effect