adversity
Americannoun
-
adversities
plural
-
adverse or unfavorable fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress.
Friends will show their true colors in times of adversity.
- Synonyms:
- misery, trouble, disaster, catastrophe
- Antonyms:
- prosperity
-
an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance.
You will meet many adversities in life.
noun
-
distress; affliction; hardship
-
an unfortunate event or incident
Synonym Usage
See affliction.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of adversity
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English adversite, from Anglo-French, from Latin adversitās “opposition”; equivalent to adverse + -ity
Explanation
When circumstances or situations work against you, you face adversity. Refugees from war-torn countries encounter terrible adversity. Adversity, a noun which has been part of the English language for over 800 years, comes from the Latin adversus, literally "turned against" and figuratively "hostile or unfavorable." When things seem against you — circumstances or a stroke of bad luck — you are facing adversity. Sometimes people use a form of the phrase "turning adversity into opportunity." This refers to the ability some people or companies have to take a bad situation and make it into a successful one.
Vocabulary lists containing adversity
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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100 Top "SAT" Words
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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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:
"Liverpool has always had a different kind of attitude, especially to adversity," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
If anything, adversity seems only to have fortified these musicians, which may in part account for Mr. Noseda’s decision in March 2025 to renew his contract with the NSO through 2030-31, its centennial season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"We managed to to shuffle things around really calmly, with good leadership from the people on the pitch, and it was really pleasing to get through that adversity."
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Good thing the Chargers’ new play-caller craves adversity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It’s kind of a hardcore ornithology-geek thing. Roughing it gets you closer to your subjects, both physically and psychologically. Achievement through adversity and all that.”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
“No matter all the adversities we face, the thing about my dad is that he’s always stayed true to himself and who he is,” says Joel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
A study conducted at the University of Turku in Finland shows that investment by maternal grandmothers can improve the well-being of grandchildren who have faced adversities in life.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
“This is a story of 45 individuals providing a window through which we can observe how they endured major adversities and built a society where compassion and mercy prevailed.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
While I was guiding troubled young people, helping them overcome the adversities in their lives, my son was left without my guidance when he needed me most.
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2023
Berlioz never flinched from reminding whoever would listen of his great troubles and adversities, nor from absorbing those torments in his music, much of which is richly rewarding to listen to.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
