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Synonyms

adventurer

American  
[ad-ven-cher-er] / ædˈvɛn tʃər ər /

noun

  • adventurers
    plural
  1. a person who has, enjoys, or seeks adventures.

  2. a seeker of fortune in daring enterprises; soldier of fortune.

  3. a person who undertakes great commercial risk; speculator.

  4. a person who seeks power, wealth, or social rank by unscrupulous or questionable means.

    They thought John was an adventurer and after their daughter's money.

  5. Usually Adventurer a member of Camp Fire, Inc., who is between the ages of 9 and 11.


adventurer British  
/ ədˈvɛntʃərə /

noun

  1. a person who seeks adventure, esp one who seeks success or money through daring exploits

  2. a person who seeks money or power by unscrupulous means

  3. a speculator

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of adventurer

First recorded in 1475–85; adventure + -er 1

Explanation

If you boldly travel to exotic and unexplored locations, you're an adventurer. One thing all adventurers have in common is a willingness to face risks and even danger in pursuit of excitement. Being an adventurer might mean scaling the highest mountains, diving to the bottom of the ocean — or for a very young child, riding a bike all the way to the end of the block. Many adventurers love to travel, particularly to rugged or unfamiliar locations. If you love adventure, you can call yourself an adventurer. Both words stem from the Latin adventura, "about to happen."

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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.

See Examples For:

In 1979, she founded the Wulff School of Fly Fishing with her husband, Lee Wulff, an adventurer who died in a plane crash in 1991.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 5, 2026

A British adventurer has been refused permission to use the Channel Tunnel to complete his 36,000-mile walk around the world.

From BBC Jun. 16, 2026

An adventurer until the end, Whittaker died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Wash., his son Leif confirmed to the New York Times.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 8, 2026

I once asked James Cameron, the director and adventurer, why we should travel to Mars and such places.

From Slate Dec. 9, 2025

The French adventurer Louis Armand de Lom d’Arce, Baron of Lahontan, lived in French Canada between 1683 and 1694 and frequently visited the Huron.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring.

From Barron's May 22, 2026

Figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were adventurers, and while perhaps not personally admirable, they changed history and changed it irrevocably:

From Salon Mar. 28, 2026

The mountain’s close proximity to Los Angeles, coupled with social media content promoting the hike, encourages inexperienced adventurers, Fordham said, with “zero regard to the actual danger they’re putting themselves in.”

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 31, 2025

These stories submerged their young readers in thrilling quests filled with heroic knights and adventurers.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 14, 2025

I’ve seen the drawings published by those first adventurers after they hurried back home to Europe.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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