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special effects
plural noun
: visual or sound effects introduced into a motion picture, video recording, or taped television production
Examples of special effects in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Film, with its arsenal of special effects, makes a more natural medium for such a book’s translation, and Ang Lee has already made a popular movie version of it.
—Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 31 Mar. 2023
Calm precision and clear intentions reverberate with mysteries; simple but jolting special effects convey the ambient hauntings of the physical world.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2023
Movie production also brings business to UK travel and equipment firms as well as special effects studios.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023
The big-and-tall monster, meanwhile, whose body has been entirely covered in fungus, is a triumph of design and special effects, even as the episode cleverly has Kathleen instead die at the hands of the little girl.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2023
Before embarking on her acting career, Coolidge attended the Joe Blasco School in Los Angeles, studying special effects, fashion, and beauty (a curriculum that included a mortuary makeup class, sans cadavers).
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2023
But the software can also create characters out of whole cloth, going beyond traditional editing software and expensive special effects tools used by Hollywood, blurring the line between fact and fiction to an extraordinary degree.
—Adam Satariano, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Feb. 2023
The whole thing was special effects.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'special effects.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1907, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to special effects
Dictionary Entries Near special effects
Cite this Entry
“Special effects.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/special%20effects. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on special effects
Britannica English: Translation of special effects for Arabic Speakers
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