negative effect — bad impact
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
A result or influence that causes harm, problems, or makes a situation worse.
Say it like a native
Textbook It produces a detrimental impact upon one's wellbeing.
Native It has a negative effect on your health.
'Detrimental impact upon one's wellbeing' is essay-speak; 'negative effect on' is plain.
Pattern: have/cause/lead to a negative effect (on something)
In use
- Too much screen time can have a negative effect on your sleep.daily life
- In my opinion, pollution has a negative effect on people's quality of life, especially in big cities.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ It has a negative affect on sleep.
✓ It has a negative effect on sleep.
The noun is 'effect'; 'affect' is the verb (it affects your sleep).
Common collocations
a negative effect on— a negative effect on, have, harmful, knock-on effect
Don't confuse it
The opposite is 'positive effect', which means something has a good or helpful result.