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repercussion noun [ riːpəˈkʌʃ(ə)n ]

• an unintended consequence of an event or action, especially an unwelcome one.
• "the move would have grave repercussions for the entire region"
Similar: consequence, result, effect, outcome, by-product, reverberation, backlash, ripple, shock wave, aftermath, footprint, fallout,
• the recoil of something after impact.
• an echo or reverberation.
Origin: late Middle English (as a medical term meaning ‘repressing of infection’): from Old French, or from Latin repercussio(n- ), from repercutere ‘cause to rebound, push back’, from re- ‘back, again’ + percutere ‘to strike’. The early sense ‘driving back, rebounding’ (mid 16th century) gave rise later to ‘blow given in return’, hence repercussion (sense 1) (early 20th century).


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