What does resulted mean?
“Resulted” is the past tense and past participle of the verb “result.” It describes something that occurred as the consequence of an action, event, or condition, as in “The storm resulted in widespread damage.” It can also mean “caused” a particular outcome: “The new policy resulted in a sharp rise in applications.” The word is especially useful when describing a clear connection between cause and effect. It is common in news reports, academic writing, official announcements, legal documents, and explanations of events. The constructions “result in” and “result from” are particularly frequent, with “in” introducing the consequence and “from” introducing the cause. Although “resulted” is sometimes used informally for any notable event, its precise sense is that the event is the outcome of something else.
To occur as a consequence of an action, event, or condition.
"The decision resulted in significant changes to the curriculum."
Commonly used with “in” for the outcome or “from” for the cause.
To cause a particular outcome or consequence.
"The accident resulted in serious injuries."
The construction “result in” is especially common in formal and informational writing.
“Resulted” turns a chain of cause and consequence into a completed event: something happened, and this was the outcome.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does resulted come from?
The word comes from Latin “resultare,” formed from “res-” (“a thing, matter”) and “-ultare,” a suffix associated with completing or producing a result. English borrowed the form as “result” in the 16th century, initially in the sense of a consequence or outcome, and it later developed into a verb meaning “to arise as a consequence” or “to cause.” The modern past form “resulted” follows the regular English pattern of adding “-ed” to the verb stem.
Related word forms
How resulted is actually used
“Result” is commonly followed by “in” to introduce an outcome and by “from” to identify its cause. In formal writing, “resulted” is suitable in both explanatory and legal contexts.