idiom
The Butterfly Effect
thuh BUT-er-fly ee-FEKT
/ðə ˈbʌtərflaɪ ɪˈfɛkt/Listen
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Syllable breakdown
thebutterflyeffect
Dictionary meaning
Idiomatic use: the notion that small, seemingly insignificant actions or decisions can produce large, unexpected consequences through a chain of interconnected events; now used colloquially far beyond its original chaos-theory context
History and origin
Popularised from Edward Lorenz's 1972 lecture on chaos theory; entered mainstream idiom through films, news, and popular science writing
Examples
- Missing that one train was a butterfly effect: he met his future wife in the waiting room.
- The butterfly effect of a single viral tweet brought down the company's stock price within hours.
Synonyms: ripple effect, knock-on effect, chain reaction
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