adventure

[ ad-ven-cher ]

/ ædˈvɛn tʃər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adventure ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an exciting or very unusual experience.

participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.

a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.

Obsolete.

peril; danger; risk.
chance; fortune; luck.

verb (used with object), ad·ven·tured, ad·ven·tur·ing.

to risk or hazard.

to take the chance of; dare.

to venture to say or utter: to adventure an opinion.

verb (used without object), ad·ven·tured, ad·ven·tur·ing.

to take the risk involved.

to venture; hazard.

Nearby words

adventitial neuritis, adventitious, adventitious cyst, adventitious root, adventive, adventure, adventure playground, adventure racing, adventure tourism, adventurer, adventuresome

Origin of adventure

1200–50; Middle English aventure < Anglo-French, Old French < Vulgar Latin *adventūra what must happen, feminine (orig. neuter plural) of Latin adventūrus future participle of advenīre to arrive; ad- ad- replacing a- a-⁵. See advent, -ure

Related forms

ad·ven·ture·ful, adjectiveun·ad·ven·tur·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adventure

Marcel the elephant takes readers on a journey through his life, recounting his memories full of travel and adventure.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Blue Ivy in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now this one-month adventure has been turned into a documentary, fittingly titled Banksy Does New York, set to air Nov. 17 on HBO.
Catch Him If You Can: Reliving Banksy’s New York Invasion|Alex Suskind|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thrust into a world of seemingly supernatural monsters, his adventure begins.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hero first enters a period known as separation, where he leaves his past and enters a new life of adventure.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They appear to see not atrocities but adventure, not gore but glory.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught|Michael Daly|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a record of adventure, travel, and description, so wonderful that for years it was doubted and its accuracy disbelieved.
A History of the Philippines|David P. Barrows
Our next time up after our Christmas Day experiences were full of incident and adventure.
Bullets & Billets|Bruce Bairnsfather
Never again would he hear that cheery hail of invitation to adventure.
Grenfell: Knight-Errant of the North|Fullerton Waldo
When he awoke the sun was already up, and he hastened to leave the scene of last night's adventure.
Tales of Wonder Every Child Should Know|Various
To him a scene which was frequently painted, an adventure which was written down and could be read, was necessarily a reality.
Renaissance Fancies and Studies|Violet Paget (AKA Vernon Lee)

British Dictionary definitions for adventure

adventure

/ (ədˈvɛntʃə) /

noun

a risky undertaking of unknown outcome

an exciting or unexpected event or course of events

a hazardous financial operation; commercial speculation

obsolete

danger or misadventure
chance

verb

to take a risk or put at risk

(intr foll by into, on, upon) to dare to go or enter (into a place, dangerous activity, etc)

to dare to say (something)he adventured his opinion

Derived Forms

adventureful, adjective

Word Origin for adventure

C13: aventure (later altered to adventure after the Latin spelling), via Old French ultimately from Latin advenīre to happen to (someone), arrive

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