adversity Definition
ad·ver·sity (ad vʉr′sə tē, əd-)
noun
- a state of wretchedness or misfortune; poverty and trouble
- pl. -·ties an instance of misfortune; calamity
Etymology: ME < OFr adversité, aversite < L adversitas < adversus, adverse
adversity Synonyms
adversity Usage Examples
Converse of object
- overcome: Typical of the great minds of our times, he has had to overcome tremendous adversity to make his mark in our world.
- survive: His experience of surviving adversity across the remote world second to none.
- suffer: They show a picture of a man who having suffered adversity has tackled it head on.
- face: Help me to trust in you to come to my aid whenever I face adversity or opposition.
- turn: Instead, seldom can any band have turned adversity to such advantage.
- handle: All of a sudden there is no fuel to maintain the same level of intensity or to handle adversity.
Preposition: into
opportunity: However, once the decision has been taken to re-establish your pedigree flock, the possibility exists to turn adversity into opportunity.
Adjective modifier
- extreme: It was a fantastic show of human spirit in extreme adversity.
- economic: But there have also been periods of decline and economic adversity.
- such: How helpless can people feel, in the face of such adversity, it would take a miracle to save us now.
- great: Events may turn out contrary to what was expected and great adversity may come.
- early: Richards M and Wadsworth M. ( 2004 ) Long-term effects of early adversity on cognitive function.
- social: Precipitating factors usually involve a life event or social adversity.
Noun used with modifier
- childhood: Childhood adversity, monoamine oxidase A genotype, and risk for conduct disorder.
- life: To what extent do mental health problems and stress physiology correlate with significant life adversity?
Preposition: in
- way: What we witnessed on Thursday was people dealing with adversity in a sensible way.
- world: Learn about surviving adversity in a world that is not fair.
Preposition: of
- life: God uses the adversities of life, from relatively minor things to the worst thing you can imagine.
- war: I believe, however, that the UN ideally, should not have to alleviate the desolation and adversity of war.
Preposition: with
courage: When you feel stronger we can face any of life's adversities with renewed courage and that makes our life easier.
Browse dictionary entries near adversity
- ‹ adversely
- ‹ adverse witness
- ‹ adverse possession
- ‹ adverse opinion
- ‹ adverse
- ‹ adversative
- ‹ adversary system
- ‹ adversary proceeding
- ‹ adversary procedure
- ‹ adversary
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