Word.ws English Dictionary

consequence

UK/ˈkɒn.sɪ.kwəns//ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns/

consequence noun: an effect; something that follows a cause as a result.

Noun

consequence (countable and uncountable, plural consequences)

  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.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 7
    1. 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.2013 September-October, Michael Sivak, “Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply?”, in American Scientist
  2. consecution; chain of causes and effects.
  3. conclusion, deduction or inference; the thing concluded.
    Synonyms:
    implication
  4. (especially when preceded by "of") 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...1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 19, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published...

Verb

consequence (third-person singular simple present consequences, present participle consequencing, simple past and past participle consequenced)

  1. (transitive) 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.1998, Terry M. Levy, Michael Orlans, Attachment, trauma, and healing
    • These behaviours are not acceptable within a classroom setting and often result in the child being consequenced or removed from class.2001, Betty Bedard-Bidwell, Hand in Hand, page 117

consequence meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

consequence in Hindi

that which follows something on which it depends
परिणाम pariṇām, नतीजा natījā

consequence in Tamil

that which follows something on which it depends
விளைவு viḷaivu
result of actions, especially unpleasant
விளைவு viḷaivu, பின்விளைவு piṉviḷaivu

consequence in Urdu

that which follows something on which it depends
نَتِیجَہ natīja

consequence in Bengali

consequence, conclusion, ramification
আকিবত akibot
consequence, result, effect, outcome
ফলাফল pholaphol
consequence
আখের akher
More languagesFewer languages
consequence in Malayalam
അനന്തരഫലം anantaraphalaṁ
consequence in Kannada
ಪರಿಣಾಮ, ಫಲಿತಾಂಶ
consequence in Punjabi
پھل phal, ਕ਼ੀਮਤ qīmat
consequence in Gujarati
પરિણામ pariṇām
consequence in Sanskrit
परत्व paratvá
consequence in Pashto
عاقبت āqebát, نتيجه natijá
consequence in Arabic
عَاقِبَة ʕāqiba, نَتِيجَة natīja
consequence in Malay
akibat
consequence in Indonesian
akibat
consequence in Thai
ผล pǒn, ผลลัพธ์ pǒn-láp, วิบาก wí-bàak
consequence in Vietnamese
hậu quả
consequence in Myanmar
ဝိပါက် wi.pak, ဝိပါကဝဋ် wi.paka.wat, အကျိုး a.kyui:
Kashmiri
خٔمِیازٕ khạmiyāzụ

Examples of consequence in a sentence

  • He is a live example of the consequences of excessive drinking.
  • His prison sentence was the natural consequence of a life of crime.
  • People do that sort of thing every day, without ever stopping to reflect on the consequences.

All 40 example sentences with consequence

Synonyms of consequence

All synonyms of consequence

Forms of consequence

Noun
pluralconsequences
Verb
third-person singular presentconsequences
present participleconsequencing
past participleconsequenced
pastconsequenced

Plural of consequence: consequences

Origin of consequence

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

Words formed from consequence

Questions about consequence

What does consequence mean?
Consequence means an effect; something that follows a cause as a result.
What is consequence in Hindi?
Consequence in Hindi is परिणाम (pariṇām), नतीजा (natījā). See Consequence meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is consequence?
Consequence can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce consequence?
Consequence is pronounced /ˈkɒn.sɪ.kwəns/ (UK).
What is the plural of consequence?
The plural of consequence is consequences.

Words near consequence in the dictionary

  1. consequated
  2. consequates
  3. consequating
  4. consequation
  5. consequations
  6. consequence
  7. consequenced
  8. consequenceless
  9. consequencelessness
  10. consequences
  11. consequencing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: consequence (page history and authors); আকিবত (Bengali) (page history and authors); അനന്തരഫലം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); consequence (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); پھل (Punjabi) (page history and authors); પરિણામ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); परत्व (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-consequence.ogg.

Cite this entry: “consequence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/consequence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.