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View synonyms for adverse

adverse

[ad-vurs, ad-vurs]

adjective

  1. unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect.

    adverse criticism.

    Antonyms: favorable, favorable
  2. opposing one's interests or desire.

    adverse circumstances.

    Antonyms: favorable, favorable
  3. being or acting in a contrary direction; opposed or opposing.

    adverse winds.

    Antonyms: favorable, favorable
  4. opposite; confronting.

    the adverse page.



adverse

/ ˈædvɜːs, ædˈvɜːs /

adjective

  1. antagonistic or inimical; hostile

    adverse criticism

  2. unfavourable to one's interests

    adverse circumstances

  3. contrary or opposite in direction or position

    adverse winds

  4. (of leaves, flowers, etc) facing the main stem Compare averse

“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
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Confusables Note

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.
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Other Word Forms

  • adversely adverb
  • adverseness noun
  • unadverse adjective
  • unadverseness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of adverse1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French advers, from Latin adversus “hostile” (past participle of advertere ), equivalent to ad- ad- + vert- “turn” + -tus past participle suffix, with -tt- giving rise to -s-
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Word History and Origins

Origin of adverse1

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

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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.

"A more recent review of studies in this area finds no association between circumcision and any adverse psychological effects," he added.

Read more on Barron's

Burnette: When we debuted our trucks in the early part of this year, end of last year, they were already capable of operating day and night and in adverse weather.

Three people finished the study early due to adverse events, their own decision to leave the study or for other reasons.

Read more on Science Daily

These types of events are what experts call adverse experiences — and a higher number of adverse experiences can lead to toxic stress, which can harm brain development and overall health.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Karen Booth is currently working at the Freeman in a non-surgical role, and has joined the hospital's support programme as a mentor for surgeons who have been involved in adverse outcomes in surgery.

Read more on BBC

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When To Use

What's the difference between adverse and averse?

Adverse most commonly means unfavorable or hostile, as in adverse conditions, adverse weather, or adverse criticism. Averse means strongly opposed to or having a feeling of strong dislike toward something, as in I’m extremely averse to taking on debt.Averse is often used in negative constructions, as in We are not averse to negotiations. It’s also used in the term risk-averse, meaning reluctant to take risks or tending to avoid risk.Confusion can arise between the two terms because both are adjectives that involve unfavorableness or opposition. However, adverse typically describes circumstances, while averse typically describes the way someone feels toward something.One way to remember which word is which is to remember that adverse, in a very general sense, means bad, which rhymes with the first part of the word. On the other hand, when you’re averse to something, you have a very strong opposition to it.It may also be helpful to remember that the noun form of adverse is adversity, which means hostile or unfavorable conditions. The noun form of averse is aversion, meaning a strong feeling of dislike or opposition.Here’s an example of adverse and averse used correctly in a sentence.Example: I’m not averse to taking risks for the sake of adventure, but I just don’t think it’s safe to skydive in such adverse weather.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between adverse and averse.

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adversative asyndetonadversely