repercussion

/rɛpərˈkʌʃɪn/

/rɛpəˈkʌʃən/

Other forms: repercussions

A repercussion is something that happens because of another action. You could quit paying your rent, but getting evicted from your apartment might be the repercussion.

Repercussion may remind you slightly of concussion or percussion — what they all have in common is the idea of something (a head, a drum) getting hit. With repercussion, the hitting is the action, and the result (i.e., the repercussion) is like hearing an echo of that original strike over and over as it reverberates through the air.

Definitions of repercussion

1. noun

   a remote or indirect consequence of some action
   “his declaration had unforeseen repercussions”

   synonyms: reverberation

   type of:

   consequence, effect, event, issue, outcome, result, upshot

   a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
2. noun

   a movement back from an impact
   synonyms: backlash, rebound, recoil

   types:

   bounce, bouncing

   rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts)

   resilience, resiliency

   an occurrence of rebounding or springing back

   carom, ricochet

   a glancing rebound

   type of:

   motion, movement

   a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something