Pendulum Effect Definition & Meaning

American

Etymology

Examples

pendulum effect American

noun

1. Also called pendulum law. Physics. a law, discovered by Galileo in 1602, that describes the regular, swinging motion of a pendulum by the action of gravity and acquired momentum.

2. the theory holding that trends in culture, politics, etc., tend to swing back and forth between opposite extremes.

Etymology

Origin of pendulum effect

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We’ve experienced a pendulum effect in Britain,” he said.

From Time

As history has taught us, presidencies are subject to the pendulum effect.

From Washington Post

I’m basing my predictions on the pendulum effect.

From Washington Post

“There’s almost always a pendulum effect,” on enrollment over the years, he said.

From Washington Times

I call this the “Pendulum Effect”– swinging to the opposite side of the professional world, praying that a dramatic career change will improve everything.

From Forbes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.