adverse

adverse
—adversely, adv. —adverseness, n.
/ad verrs", ad"verrs/, adj.
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.
[1350-1400; ME < AF, OF advers < L adversus hostile (ptp. of advertere), equiv. to ad- AD- + vert- turn + -tus ptp. suffix, with -tt- > -s-]
Syn. 1. hostile, inimical, unfriendly. 2. unfavorable; unlucky, unfortunate; disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic. See contrary.
Ant. 1-3. favorable.
Usage. 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.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • adverse — [ advɛrs ] adj. • XVe; averse 1080; lat. adversus ♦ Opposé, contraire. L équipe, le camp adverse. « La France est divisée en deux blocs adverses » (Duhamel). Partie adverse, contre laquelle on plaide. ⊗ CONTR. Allié, ami. ● adverse adjectif… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • adverse — ad·verse /ad vərs, ad ˌvərs/ adj: opposed to one s interests: operating to one s detriment an adverse verdict Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. adverse …   Law dictionary

  • Adverse — or adverse interest, in law, is anything that functions contrary to a party s interest. This word should not be confused with .Adverse witness and partyAn adverse witness is a witness whose testimony benefits an opposing party. Opposing parties… …   Wikipedia

  • adverse — 1 Adverse, antagonistic, counter, counteractive mean so opposed as to cause interference, often harmful or fatal interference. All four may be applied to one thing that comes into conflict with another {an adverse policy} {an adverse wind had so… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Adverse — Ad verse, a. [OE. advers, OF. avers, advers, fr. L. adversus, p. p. advertere to turn to. See {Advert}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Acting against, or in a contrary direction; opposed; contrary; opposite; conflicting; as, adverse winds; an adverse party;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • adverse — UK US /ˈædvɜːs/ adjective [before noun] ► harmful or likely to cause problems: »A chain reaction of adverse events in the financial markets has put lenders under severe pressure. adverse effect/impact/change »Recent bad publicity has had an… …   Financial and business terms

  • adverse — adverse, averse These two words both come from the Latin word vertere ‘to turn’, but averse (= turning away) means ‘opposed to’ and is typically used in negative contexts of people, whereas adverse (= turning towards, hostilely) is used of things …   Modern English usage

  • adverse — ADVERSE. adj. Contraire. Il n est d usage qu en ces deux phrases, Fortune adverse, Partie adverse, dont la dernière ne se dit qu en style de Barreau, et signifie La personne contre qui l on plaide. On dit aussi, L Avocat adverse …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • adverse — (adj.) late 14c., contrary, opposing, from O.Fr. avers (13c., Mod.Fr. adverse) antagonistic, unfriendly, contrary, foreign (e.g. gent avers infidel race ), from L. adversus turned against, turned toward, fronting, facing, figuratively hostile,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • adverse — Adverse. adjectif. Contraire. Il n a d usage qu en ces deux phrases. Fortune adverse. partie adverse. C est la personne contre qui on plaide …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • adverse — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ harmful; unfavourable. DERIVATIVES adversely adverb. USAGE A common error is to use adverse instead of averse, as in I am not adverse to helping out , rather than the correct form I am not averse to helping out. ORIGIN Latin… …   English terms dictionary

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