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unintended consequence

noun

Etymology

Popularized by sociologist Robert K. Merton.

Definitions

  1. An outcome of a purposeful action that is not intended or foreseen.

    • Over the past several years we’ve learned a lot about the unintended consequences of social media. Platforms intended to bring us closer together make us angrier and more isolated.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for unintended consequence. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA