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BUTTERFLY EFFECT
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Dictionary entry overview: What does butterfly effect mean?
• BUTTERFLY EFFECT (noun)
The noun BUTTERFLY EFFECT has 1 sense:
1. the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in Rio de Janeiro might change the weather in Chicago
Familiarity information: BUTTERFLY EFFECT used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in Rio de Janeiro might change the weather in Chicago
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("butterfly effect" is a kind of...):
consequence; effect; event; issue; outcome; result; upshot (a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon)
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