adverse

[ad-vurs, ad-vurs]

See more 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.

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-

Related formsad·verse·ly, adverbad·verse·ness, nounun·ad·verse, adjectiveun·ad·verse·ly, adverbun·ad·verse·ness, noun

Can be confusedadverse averse (see usage note at the current entry)

Synonyms for adverse

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. hostile, inimical, unfriendly. 2. unfavorable; unlucky, unfortunate; disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic.

Synonym study

2. See contrary.

Antonyms for adverse

1–3. favorable.

Usage 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for adversely

skeptically, negatively

Examples from the Web for adversely

Contemporary Examples of adversely

Others told us it adversely affected their career opportunities.
Why We’re Not Ranking Rabbis
Gary Ginsberg, Michael Lynton, Abigail Pogrebin
February 26, 2014
I worry that these forces are nudging our kids towards behaviors that could adversely impact them down the road.
Teen Pregnancies Drop a Whopping 52 Percent in Two Decades
Joshua DuBois
December 8, 2013
Plus, “shareholders may be adversely affected by lack of regular shareholder meetings and no voting rights.”
Inside the Winklevoss Twins’ New Bitcoin Gambit
Daniel Gross
July 2, 2013
However, bad weather can adversely affect the incumbent party, some studies show.
Sandy and Politics
Michael Tomasky
October 29, 2012
That could adversely affect fish and marine life, which could in turn have an impact on people.
Radiation in Tokyo's Tap Water
Lennox Samuels
March 23, 2011

Historical Examples of adversely

It was referred to the Committee on the Public Lands and reported on adversely.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917
Various
Mr. Round, however, has adversely criticised this conclusion.
London Before the Conquest
W. R. Lethaby
"It wouldn't do to be adversely criticized by your boy," he thought.
In the Wilderness
Robert Hichens
Both the quality and the quantity of the crop were adversely affected.
Inorganic Plant Poisons and Stimulants
Winifred E. Brenchley
Every article of the Settlement affected their interests most adversely.
Bohemia under Hapsburg Misrule
Various

British Dictionary definitions for adversely

adverse

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 Formsadversely, 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

Word Origin and History for adversely

adverse

adj.

late 14c., "contrary, opposing," from Old French avers (13c., Modern French adverse) "antagonistic, unfriendly, contrary, foreign" (e.g. gent avers "infidel race"), from Latin adversus "turned against, turned toward, fronting, facing," figuratively "hostile, adverse, unfavorable," past participle of advertere, from ad- "to" (see ad-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Related: Adversely.