adversely

American

[ad-vurs-lee] / ædˈvɜrs li /

adverb

in a negative, contrary, or unfavorable way or direction.

The report details eleven risk factors that the authors believe adversely affect children's development and well-being.

Other Word Forms

unadversely adverb

Etymology

Origin of adversely

adverse ( def. ) + -ly

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

The IMO council said in its declaration that members "strongly condemned the threats and attacks against vessels and purported closure of the Strait... by Iran, adversely affecting merchant and commercial vessels".

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

This is in addition to other crises that had been adversely affecting businesses and people.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

People who are adversely affected by underwater mortgages — as this story illustrates — are those who need to sell as soon as possible.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 12, 2026

“If consumers’ preference for downloading video game content in lieu of physical software continues to increase, our business and financial performance may be adversely impacted.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026

“That’s what I said! But Dr. Culligan said I had to ‘react adversely to the stimuli’ before she could prescribe me anything.”

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023