ripple effect
4 synonyms and 0 antonyms 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.
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.