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Adverse vs. Averse
Many people find themselves confused when faced with the choice between adverse and averse. While these two adjectives have many similarities, they are not used interchangeably.
If you want to describe a negative reaction to something (such as a harmful side effect from medication) or dangerous meteorological conditions (such as a snowstorm), adverse is the correct choice; you would not say that you had an averse reaction to medication or that there was averse weather.
Averse is most commonly followed by the preposition to (as in "she is averse to shellfish"), but not in every case; you can, for example, describe someone as “risk averse." Normally, averse to signifies a degree of dislike and avoidance, but when preceded by the word not (as in “he was not averse to having another drink”), it may be used as a pointedly understated way to express an interest in something.
In short, adverse tends to be used to describe effects, conditions, and results; while averse refers to feelings and inclinations.
Synonyms
Examples of adverse in a Sentence
Lawyers Weekly USA, 4 Oct. 1999
On more than one occasion his decrees provoked riots, and there were those who voiced adverse opinions on the Duke in public.
—Alison Weir, The Princes in the Tower, 1992
The plant tolerates adverse conditions …
—Dave Dunn, Fine Gardening, January/February 1991
all the adverse publicity really caused the movie star's popularity to suffer
the adverse effects of the drug are too severe to allow it to be marketed
Audarshia Townsend, Parents, 27 Nov. 2023
Foods to Avoid While Taking a GLP-1 Agonist Certain types of foods can contribute to adverse side effects often associated with GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic or Wegovy.
—Maggie O'Neill, Verywell Health, 21 Nov. 2023
These patterns indicate an opportunity for regulation of the cybersecurity insurance market to prevent an adverse selection death spiral from possibly unraveling the entire market.
—Hannah Neprash, STAT, 17 Nov. 2023
There are relatively few long-term adverse risks, but one is that the effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists include loss of both fat tissue and muscle.
—Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2023
So far, no adverse event reports of eye infection associated with these products have been reported.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 16 Nov. 2023
Prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter has been linked to heart and lung diseases, respiratory infections, adverse birth outcomes, and more.
—WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023
That’s going to continue to have an adverse effect on housing affordability in the U.S., which is already at abysmal levels with high home prices and mortgage rates and declining inventory levels.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2023
Meta, ByteDance, Alphabet, and Snap must proceed with a lawsuit alleging their social platforms have adverse mental health effects on children, a federal court ruled on Tuesday.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adverse.' 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, borrowed from Anglo-French advers, borrowed from Latin adversus "turned toward, facing, opposed," from past participle of advertere "to turn toward, direct" — more at advert entry 1
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to adverse
Dictionary Entries Near adverse
Cite this Entry
“Adverse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adverse. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
adverse
adjective
Legal Definition
adverse
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on adverse
Nglish: Translation of adverse for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of adverse for Arabic Speakers
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