causal
adj.describing a direct link between an action and its result. If one thing causes another, that link is causal.
adj.relating to or determined by a cause; describing the relationship between an event and the factor that produced it. Common in academic and scientific contexts.
“The report found a causal link between sugar and energy.”
“Researchers struggled to prove a causal connection between the drug and the side effects.”
“While the correlation was strong, establishing a causal mechanism required rigorous experimental controls to rule out confounding variables.”
Usage causal effect · causal explanation · causal factor
“Researchers can use these genetic differences to assess whether evidence supports a causal relationship between a particular risk factor and a health outcome.”
“So while there is a causal connection between the two overall, the connection is not always strong.”
Borrowed from Late Latin causalis, from Latin causa (“cause”), equivalent to cause + -al, see cause.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.