adversity
Americannoun
-
adversities
plural
-
adverse or unfavorable fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress.
Friends will show their true colors in times of adversity.
- Synonyms:
- misery, trouble, disaster, catastrophe
- Antonyms:
- prosperity
-
an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance.
You will meet many adversities in life.
noun
-
distress; affliction; hardship
-
an unfortunate event or incident
Synonym Usage
See affliction.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of adversity
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English adversite, from Anglo-French, from Latin adversitās “opposition”; equivalent to adverse + -ity
Explanation
When circumstances or situations work against you, you face adversity. Refugees from war-torn countries encounter terrible adversity. Adversity, a noun which has been part of the English language for over 800 years, comes from the Latin adversus, literally "turned against" and figuratively "hostile or unfavorable." When things seem against you — circumstances or a stroke of bad luck — you are facing adversity. Sometimes people use a form of the phrase "turning adversity into opportunity." This refers to the ability some people or companies have to take a bad situation and make it into a successful one.
Vocabulary lists containing adversity
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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100 Top "SAT" Words
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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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.
See Examples For:
The theme of the Woodland Trust's annual competition was Against All Odds, with trees across the UK shortlisted for being impressive, beautiful and sometimes baffling examples of how nature can survive adversity.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Liverpool has always had a different kind of attitude, especially to adversity," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
If anything, adversity seems only to have fortified these musicians, which may in part account for Mr. Noseda’s decision in March 2025 to renew his contract with the NSO through 2030-31, its centennial season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Allen said Ferguson showed he could handle the adversity that all players, especially young pass-catchers, must endure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Otherwise, he will have no support in times of adversity.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Throughout our conversation, she doesn’t shy away from explaining her life’s adversities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2025
The judge added that Mr Fox had tried to "attach blame and discredit" Mr Blake and Mr Seymour during the litigation, and hold them responsible "for a range of his own life's adversities".
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2024
Information about the genetic predisposition for muscle strength could be used alongside traditional risk assessment in identifying individuals who are at particularly high risk of common diseases and health adversities.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2024
“This is a story of 45 individuals providing a window through which we can observe how they endured major adversities and built a society where compassion and mercy prevailed.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
Berlioz never flinched from reminding whoever would listen of his great troubles and adversities, nor from absorbing those torments in his music, much of which is richly rewarding to listen to.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
