ripple effect
4 synonyms for ripple effect, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The way one event spreads outward to cause a series of further effects, each further from the original cause.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use ripple effect
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
a ripple effect through
have a ripple effect
wider ripple effects
economic ripple effect
Neutral and very common in business, economics and journalism. It can describe good or bad chains of effects, though bad ones are more usual.
Etymology
A metaphor from the rings that spread when something is dropped into water; ripple itself is of uncertain earlier origin.
Full origin of ripple effect →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a ripple effect and a domino effect?
A ripple effect spreads outward in all directions and grows fainter with distance, like rings in water. A domino effect runs along a single chain where each step directly topples the next, and the force does not diminish. Use domino effect for a sequence of failures, ripple effect for diffuse consequences.
What is the difference between a ripple effect and the butterfly effect?
The ripple effect describes proportionate consequences spreading from an event. The butterfly effect is a term from chaos theory for a tiny change producing a wildly disproportionate outcome that could not have been predicted.
