Word.ws English Dictionary

double effect

double effect noun: the situation where an otherwise legitimate act (for example, relieving a terminally ill patient's pain) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid (e.g. sedation and a slightly shortened life).

Noun

double effect (uncountable)

  1. The situation where an otherwise legitimate act (for example, relieving a terminally ill patient's pain) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid (e.g. sedation and a slightly shortened life).

Questions about double effect

What does double effect mean?
Double effect means the situation where an otherwise legitimate act (for example, relieving a terminally ill patient's pain) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid (e.g. sedation and a slightly shortened life).
What part of speech is double effect?
Double effect is a noun.

Words near double effect in the dictionary

  1. double duty
  2. double E
  3. double eagle
  4. double eagles
  5. double edge sword
  6. double effect
  7. double empathy problem
  8. double emulsion
  9. double emulsions
  10. double English
  11. double entendre

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: double effect (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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