English

Adjective

adverse ‎(comparative adverser, superlative adversest)

1. Unfavorable; antagonistic in purpose or effect; hostile; actively opposing one's interests or wishes; contrary to one's welfare; acting against; working in an opposing direction.

   adverse criticism

   • Southey

     Happy were it for us all if we bore prosperity as well and wisely as we endure an adverse fortune.

   • 2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian:

     He said Robins had not been in trouble with the law before and had no previous convictions. Jail would have an adverse effect on her and her three children as she was the main carer.

2. Opposed; contrary; opposing one's interests or desire.

   adverse circumstances.

3. (not comparable) Opposite; confronting.

   the adverse page

   the adverse party

   • 1809, Lord Byron, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, Google Books

     Calpe's adverse height / […] must greet my sight

Usage notes

Adverse is sometimes confused with averse, though the meanings are somewhat different. Adverse most often refers to things, denoting something that is in opposition to someone's interests — something one might refer to as an adversity or adversary — (adverse winds; an attitude adverse to our ideals). Averse usually refers to people, and implies one has a distaste, disinclination, or aversion toward something (a leader averse to war; an investor averse to risk taking). Averse is most often used with "to" in a construction like "I am averse to…". Adverse shows up less often in this type of construction, describing a person instead of a thing, and should carry a meaning of "actively opposed to" rather than "has an aversion to".

Derived terms

• adversely
• adverseness

Related terms

• adversary
• adversative
• adversity
• versus

See also

• averse

Translations

Anagrams

• aversed
• evaders

French

Etymology

From Latin adversus ‎(“against, opposite”).

Adjective

adverse m, f ‎(plural adverses)

1. adverse

Anagrams

• déversa

Latin

Participle

adverse

1. vocative masculine singular of adversus

References

• adverse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “adverse”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.

Spanish

Verb

adverse

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of adversar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of adversar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of adversar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of adversar.