adventurous
Americanadjective
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inclined or willing to engage in adventures; enjoying adventures.
- Synonyms:
- venturesome, venturous, daring, bold
-
full of risk; requiring courage; hazardous.
an adventurous undertaking.
adjective
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Also: adventuresome. daring or enterprising
-
dangerous; involving risk
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adventurous
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French aventureus, aventureux; equivalent to adventure ( def. ) + -ous ( def. )
Explanation
If you're adventurous, you're eager to try new things and take risks. If you can't wait to go kayaking in the Amazon and you're willing to try that stew with the weird things floating around in it, you're adventurous. Adventurous means eager for adventure, and both words come from the Latin for “about to happen” — an adventure always has an element of the unknown. Being adventurous means you’re willing to go where you haven’t been before and do things you’ve never done, even if you don’t know how it’s going to turn out.
Vocabulary lists containing adventurous
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Travel
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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.
For the adventurous and industrious, from October to March, the town sells $50-a-week shellfish permits for recreational scalloping.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 20, 2026
For nearly 25 years, GoPro cameras have gone underwater, glided with parachutes and slipped down ski slopes, allowing the adventurous to record images of their experiences.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
As they've matured, their music's become more quirky and adventurous.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Who knows if Thursday’s last “Late Show” will be that adventurous?
From Salon • May 21, 2026
It would be a while till he saw his brave, adventurous, tiring, and fanciful friend again.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
