Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Origin: Early French advers, from Latin adversus, past participle of advertere; ADVERT

adverse

 adjective
     
ad‧verse
1 not good or favourable:
They fear it could have an adverse effect on global financial markets.
Miller's campaign has received a good deal of adverse publicity.
2

adverse conditions

conditions that make it difficult for something to happen or exist:
The expedition was abandoned because of adverse weather conditions.
—adversely adverb:
developments which had adversely affected their business
WORD FOCUS: difficult WORD FOCUS: difficult
difficult to do: hard, tough, challenging, daunting
difficult and needing a lot of physical effort: tough, strenuous, back-breaking, gruelling, arduous, punishing
difficult to deal with or talk about: tricky, awkward, delicate, sensitive, touchy
words for describing a difficult person: awkward, trying
words for describing difficult conditions: adverse, hostile

➔ See also difficult
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary