adversity

[ad-vur-si-tee]

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noun, plural ad·ver·si·ties for 2.

adverse or unfavorable fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress: Friends will show their true colors in times of adversity.

an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance: You will meet many adversities in life.

Nearby words

Origin of adversity

1200–50; Middle English adversite (< Anglo-French) < Latin adversitās. See adverse, -ity

SYNONYMS FOR adversity

1. catastrophe, disaster; trouble, misery.

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ANTONYMS FOR adversity

1. prosperity.

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Synonym study

2. See affliction.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adversities

Gone was all thought of the perils and hardships I had endured, and gone was the fear of adversities in store.
Sindbad the Sailor & Other Stories from The Arabian Nights|Edmund Dulac
This was their chief adversity, and of other adversities I have to speak.
Science and Medieval Thought|Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt
But the very sorrows and adversities of the good, prove that there is a life beyond, where all will be made even.
The International Magazine, Vol. IV. New-York, December 1, 1851. No. V.|Various
She cherishes and consoles her afflicted husband through all the adversities of his destiny and the consequences of his faults.
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli

Let us follow God's commandments, and do unto others as we would they should do unto us, and be patient under all adversities.
Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ|Rev. A. Bernstein, B.D.

British Dictionary definitions for adversities

adversity

noun plural -ties

distress; affliction; hardship

an unfortunate event or incident

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 adversities

adversity

c.1200, aduersite "misfortune, hardship, difficulty," from Old French aversité "adversity, calamity, misfortune; hostility, wickedness, malice" (Modern French adversité), from Latin adversitatem (nominative adversitas) "opposition," from adversus (see adverse).