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adverse

[ ad-vurs, ad-vurs ]
/ ædˈvɜrs, ˈæd vɜrs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR adverse ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect: adverse criticism.
opposing one's interests or desire: adverse circumstances.
being or acting in a contrary direction; opposed or opposing: adverse winds.
opposite; confronting: the adverse page.

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Origin of adverse

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French advers < Latin adversus hostile (past participle of advertere), equivalent to ad- ad- + vert- turn + -tus past participle suffix, with -tt- > -s-

synonym study for adverse

2. See contrary.

usage note for adverse

The adjectives adverse and averse are related both etymologically and semantically, each having “opposition” as a central sense. Adverse is seldom used of people but rather of effects or events, and it usually conveys a sense of hostility or harmfulness: adverse reviews; adverse winds; adverse trends in the economy. Related nouns are adversity and adversary: Adversities breed bitterness. His adversaries countered his every move. Averse is used of persons and means “feeling opposed or disinclined”; it often occurs idiomatically with a preceding negative to convey the opposite meaning “willing or agreeable,” and is not interchangeable with adverse in these contexts: We are not averse to holding another meeting. The related noun is aversion: She has a strong aversion to violence. Averse is usually followed by to, in older use occasionally by from.

OTHER WORDS FROM adverse

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adverse

adverse averse (see usage note at the current entry)

Words nearby adverse

adversarial, adversary, adversaryism, adversative, adversative asyndeton, adverse, adverse possession, adverse pressure gradient, adverse reaction, adverse selection, adversity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to adverse

inimical, conflicting, negative, unfriendly, detrimental, unfortunate, disadvantageous, injurious, contrary, inopportune, opposed, opposing, opposite, ornery, reluctant, repugnant, stuffy, unlucky, unpropitious, unwilling

Example sentences from the Web for adverse

British Dictionary definitions for adverse

adverse
/ (ˈædvɜːs, ædˈvɜːs) /

adjective

antagonistic or inimical; hostileadverse criticism
unfavourable to one's interestsadverse circumstances
contrary or opposite in direction or positionadverse winds
(of leaves, flowers, etc) facing the main stemCompare averse (def. 2)

Derived forms of adverse

adversely, adverbadverseness, noun

Word Origin for adverse

C14: from Latin adversus opposed to, hostile, from advertere to turn towards, from ad- to, towards + vertere to turn
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