adverse

adjective

ad-ˈvərs How to pronounce adverse (audio)
Definition of adversenext
1
as in unfavorable
opposed to one's interests all the adverse publicity really caused the movie star's popularity to suffer

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in detrimental
causing or capable of causing harm the adverse effects of the drug are too severe to allow it to be marketed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adverse Researchers found that the drug was generally safe, with serious adverse events more common in the control group than among those treated. — Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 3 Sep. 2026 Overfertilization is a common problem that has far-reaching adverse environmental effects, from groundwater contamination to degradation of waterways. — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2026 The Justice Department’s brief takes a direct shot at an adverse finding for AI companies from a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit from authors against Meta. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 When pollution levels are elevated, the Mid-America Regional Council recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. — Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for adverse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adverse
  1. unfavorable
  2. detrimental
  3. negative
  4. harmful
  5. hostile
  6. damaging
  7. dangerous
  8. bad
Adjective
  • Good opportunities should create attractive potential upside without placing the organization in a position where one unfavorable outcome becomes catastrophic.
    — Brian Ferdinand, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The vast majority of Democrats — 92% — have an unfavorable option.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfavorable
Adjective
  • Being a tenant may limit priority over game scheduling too, which could be detrimental for potential media rights negotiations.
    — Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The wet-dry cycle that works well for other houseplants is detrimental to the Venus flytrap.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of detrimental
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, the club’s short-term assets total just €529m, making for negative working capital of €376m, a €110m worsening on a year earlier.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Systems are designed to handle payment failures using offline card validation, short-term negative balances and grace periods.
    — Miroslav Katsarov, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of negative
Adjective
  • These ads seem to violate federal child pornography laws, since the Justice Department has clarified that AI CSAM is just as harmful as CSAM.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Long-term inflammation in the body can be harmful to your overall health.
    — Sunny Sea Gold, HEALTH, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • Terrorism wasn’t a completely foreign concept, but the notion of a hostile, coordinated attack on our soil, at that scale, seemed like something that might only happen in a Tom Clancy novel or a summer blockbuster movie.
    — Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Now, civil engineer Jishen Qiu and his team wondered if engineers could exploit Mars’s hostile climate, rather than fighting the planet’s extremely low temperature.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of hostile
Adjective
  • The storm brought damaging winds and heavy rainfall to the islands of Kauai and Oahu, with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reporting widespread power outages on both islands.
    — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The main threat will be strong and damaging wind gusts from downbursts, the weather service said.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of damaging
Adjective
  • The most dangerous place on the field in the third quarter was your own 38 yard line!
    — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • ShotSpotter offers targeted detection of a dangerous event versus technology like Flock's indiscriminate collection of innocent people's movements.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of dangerous
Adjective
  • Jeffrey Katzenberg, then a studio executive at Paramount Pictures, hand-picked the Happy Days star for the job, but at the time, Winkler had a bad feeling about accepting it.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • How many of us make things worse More seasoned Internet users—a fair number who read this site—are quick to dismiss the attack.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of bad

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Cite this Entry

“Adverse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adverse. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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