Word of the Day

: September 12, 2021

adversary

noun AD-ver-sair-ee

What It Means

Adversary is a word for an enemy or opponent.

// The adversaries met at the negotiating table again, hoping to reach an agreement.

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adversary in Context

"Large-scale special effects and intrepid derring-do are wedded to themes of clan solidarity, compassion toward adversaries and contrition for past misdeeds in director Cate Shortland's Marvel Comics-derived action adventure." — The Arlington (Virginia) Catholic Herald, 2 Aug. 2021

Did You Know?

Adversary comes from Latin advertere, meaning "to turn toward." The vertere of advertere means "to turn" and is the source of a number of English words. Along with obvious derivatives like inadvertent and adverse are some surprises, including anniversary, vertebra, and prose (this last coming by way of a Latin contraction of a form of the verb provertere, meaning "to turn forward").