advertent

[ad-vur-tnt]

adjective

1. attentive; heedful.

Other Word Forms

• advertently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of advertent¹

1665–75; < Latin advertent- (stem of advertēns, present participle of advertere ), equivalent to ad- ad- + vert- turn + -ent- -ent

Example Sentences

“We don’t want to have the door open that they can go see advertent nudity and sexual acts or the depiction of sexual acts,” said Republican Sen. Becky Massey.

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Federal prison authorities, he said, “would have very, very substantial concerns about that because of the risk of either advertent or inadvertent disruption of the IV lines.”

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The next morning Evelyn appears cold and still in her bed, as Stella realizes that she has become an inadvertent — or perhaps advertent? — murderer.

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And it’s very dark, so inadvertent — or advertent — touching just might occur.

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Thirty-five years later, it is possible to see Micheaux as a central figure in American culture and, advertent or not, one of the great innovators in American cinema.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• attentive 
• discerning 
• discriminating 
• intelligent 
• mindful 
• perceptive 
• vigilant 

When To Use

What does advertent mean?

Advertent describes something or someone as attentive or heedful, as in Karine aced the test because she was advertent to all the professor’s lectures.Not a very common term, advertent can generally be used to mean attentive, as in paying attention or thinking about something. Someone who is advertent about something is observing or considering their actions and their impact.You’re more likely to see advertent with its more-common antonym, inadvertent. While it means inattentive or unheedful, inadvertent is most often used to mean unintentional. In this situation, advertent would be used to mean the opposite idea—that is, intentional. When something is done advertently, it means that it was done in order to reach a desired outcome.Example: Theo lied about what he was doing Saturday night in an advertent to keep the surprise party a surprise.