adversative

[ ad-vur-suh-tiv ]

/ ædˈvɜr sə tɪv /

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See synonyms for adversative on Thesaurus.com

adjective

expressing contrariety, opposition, or antithesis: “But” is an adversative conjunction.

noun

an adversative word or proposition.

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Origin of adversative

1525–35; <Late Latin adversātīvus, equivalent to adversāt(us) (past participle of adversārī to resist; see adverse, -ate¹) + -īvus-ive

OTHER WORDS FROM adversative

ad·ver·sa·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby adversative

ad verbum, advergame, adversarial, adversary, adversaryism, adversative, adversative asyndeton, adverse, adversely, adverse possession, adverse pressure gradient

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use adversative in a sentence

Without the adversative, the colon is to be preferred: "Prosperity showeth vice: adversity, virtue."
The Verbalist|Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
Another example is, "Only the star dazzles; the planet has a faint, moon-like ray" (adversative).
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
They are sometimes adversative; sometimes they are simply cumulative.
The Greatest English Classic|Cleland Boyd McAfee
The que here has a slight adversative force, as is often the case with et.
Cato Maior de Senectute|Marcus Tullius Cicero

But the conjunction is often omitted in copulative and adversative clauses, as in Sec.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell

British Dictionary definitions for adversative

adversative

/ (ədˈvɜːsətɪv) grammar /

adjective

(of a word, phrase, or clause) implying opposition or contrast. But and although are adversative conjunctions introducing adversative clauses

noun

an adversative word or speech element

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

adversative

Origin of adversative

OTHER WORDS FROM adversative

Words nearby adversative

Words related to adversative

How to use adversative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adversative