adversely
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adversely
Explanation
When something affects you adversely, it's harmful or negative. Holding a cinder block will adversely affect your running speed. When you talk about things that are acting adversely, they are harming something or holding it back in some way. Not getting enough sleep will adversely affect your performance in school. Rain will adversely affect an outdoor wedding. Anything that's making things worse instead of better is adversely influencing the situation. Adversely means something close to badly or harmfully. So when you see this word, you know something is going wrong.
Vocabulary lists containing adversely
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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167 Vocabulary words from the Supreme Court's DOMA Decision
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Vocabulary from the Seventh Democratic Debate, March 6, 2016
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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.
For instance, six NHS trusts in England declared a critical incident last week after hot weather adversely affected their IT systems, scanners, and cancer and lab equipment.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
She points out legal ramifications that can adversely impact Jim, as well as the original owner of the account.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
"When beef is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern, it helps fill essential nutritional gaps and does not adversely impact the cardiometabolic risk profile compared to poultry."
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
Higher interest rates will also adversely affect stocks, but successful companies can raise prices, increase revenue and control costs, which will lead to higher nominal stock prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Some very recent work indicates that reproduction of birds may be adversely affected by these and certain other herbicides at levels far below those that cause death.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
