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Adverse

 - 4 dictionary results

ad⋅verse

[ad-vurs, ad-vurs]
–adjective
1. unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect: adverse criticism.
2. opposing one's interests or desire: adverse circumstances.
3. being or acting in a contrary direction; opposed or opposing: adverse winds.
4. opposite; confronting: the adverse page.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < AF, OF advers < L adversus hostile (ptp. of advertere), equiv. to ad- ad- + vert- turn + -tus ptp. suffix, with -tt- > -s-


ad⋅verse⋅ly, adverb
ad⋅verse⋅ness, noun


1. hostile, inimical, unfriendly. 2. unfavorable; unlucky, unfortunate; disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic. See contrary.


1–3. favorable.


The adjectives adverse and averse are related both etymologically and semantically, each having “opposition” as a central sense. Adverse is seldom used of people but rather of effects or events, and it usually conveys a sense of hostility or harmfulness: adverse reviews; adverse winds; adverse trends in the economy. Related nouns are adversity and adversary: Adversities breed bitterness. His adversaries countered his every move. Averse is used of persons and means “feeling opposed or disinclined”; it often occurs idiomatically with a preceding negative to convey the opposite meaning “willing or agreeable,” and is not interchangeable with adverse in these contexts: We are not averse to holding another meeting. The related noun is aversion: She has a strong aversion to violence. Averse is usually followed by to, in older use occasionally by from.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Adverse
ad·verse   (ād-vûrs', ād'vûrs')   
adj.  
  1. Acting or serving to oppose; antagonistic: adverse criticism.

  2. Contrary to one's interests or welfare; harmful or unfavorable: adverse circumstances.

  3. Moving in an opposite or opposing direction: adverse currents.

  4. Archaic Placed opposite.


[Middle English, from Old French advers, from Latin adversus, past participle of advertere, to turn toward : ad-, ad- + vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
ad·verse'ly adv., ad·verse'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

adverse 
c.1374, from O.Fr. avers, from L. adversus "turned against," thus "hostile," pp. of advertere, from ad- "to" + vertere "to turn" (see versus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ad·verse
Pronunciation: ad-'v&rs, 'ad-"v&rs
Function: adjective
: opposed to one's interests : operating to one's detriment adverse verdict>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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