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adversity
noun
Did you know?
Adversity comes from Middle English adversite, meaning "opposition, hostility, misfortune, or hardship," which itself is from Latin adversus, the source of adverse, which means "bad or unfavorable," as in "adverse criticism" or "an adverse reaction to the medication."
Synonyms
misfortune, mischance, adversity, mishap mean adverse fortune or an instance of this.
misfortune may apply to either the incident or conjunction of events that is the cause of an unhappy change of fortune or to the ensuing state of distress.
mischance applies especially to a situation involving no more than slight inconvenience or minor annoyance.
adversity applies to a state of grave or persistent misfortune.
mishap applies to an often trivial instance of bad luck.
Examples of adversity in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adversity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English adversite "opposition, hostility, misfortune, hardship," borrowed from Anglo-French adversité, aversité, borrowed from Late Latin adversitāt-, adversitās (Latin, "power of counteracting"), from Latin adversus adverse + -itāt-, -itās -ity
13th century, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Adversity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adversity. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
adversity
nounMore from Merriam-Webster on adversity
Nglish: Translation of adversity for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of adversity for Arabic Speakers
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