Consequence

How to spell consequence

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce consequence

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does consequence mean?

1. nounA result or effect, typically one that follows from a particular action or condition.
2. nounImportance or significance, as in a matter of weight or note.

Consequence in a sentence

• Missing the deadline had a serious consequence for the whole team.

• The lost receipt was of little consequence once the refund cleared.

• Every consequence of the new policy was carefully weighed before the vote.

• The meeting addressed several issues of real consequence to the business.

Where does consequence come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin consequentia, meaning 'a following after' or 'a result', which was formed from the verb consequi, 'to follow closely' or 'to follow as a result'. That verb was built from con-, here acting as an intensifier meaning 'with' or 'together', joined to sequi, the Latin verb meaning simply 'to follow'. English borrowed it through Old French in the late 1300s, originally with the logical sense of something that follows on from a premise, and it broadened into the everyday meaning of a result or effect of an action. The very same sequi root still surfaces in a whole family of English words such as 'sequence', 'sequel', and 'consecutive', all of which share the idea of one thing following another. Knowing that the middle of the word is the 'sequ' that means 'follow' helps anchor that tricky -quence ending, which is easy to misspell as -quense.

How the word is built

• con- (together, with)
• sequ (follow)
• -ence (noun suffix)