An electric effect influences the structure, reactivity, or properties of a molecule but is neither a traditional bond nor a steric effect.[1] In organic chemistry, the term stereoelectronic effect is also used to emphasize the relation between the electronic structure and the geometry (stereochemistry) of a molecule.
The term polar effect is sometimes used to refer to electronic effects, but also may have the more narrow definition of effects resulting from non-conjugated substituents.[2]