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:
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” McVay said of anticipating when adversity will come.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“However, supporting student-athletes and their growth during a time of adversity is strength. Being bitter doesn’t make you better and this should not be mistaken for weakness or agreement.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
So often Djokovic has found a way to win in moments of adversity.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The results suggest that SETD7 and the changes it produces in DNA packaging may help create a lasting molecular memory of early adversity.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
There is another definition in which resilience means the ability to recover easily from adversity.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
"We wish Feliks to get stronger as soon as possible, survive all the adversities, conquer his territory and leave descendants," said Milan Ružić, executive director of the BPSSS.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Throughout our conversation, she doesn’t shy away from explaining her life’s adversities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2025
A study conducted at the University of Turku in Finland shows that investment by maternal grandmothers can improve the well-being of grandchildren who have faced adversities in life.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 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
Along with everyone else, he had received his own bound and illustrated tale of love, adversities overcome, reunion and a wedding.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
