Adversity
Lockdowns, lost finals, and flooded dhabas all teach the lesson this noun carries: hardship survived becomes biography material.
Learn This WordMeaning
Hardship or difficult conditions.
Memory trick
ADVERSE winds blow against the ship; adversity is life sailing into them.
Examples
He grew stronger through adversity.
The dhaba survived demonetization, lockdown, and floods: pure adversity training.
Adversity revealed which teammates showed up early and which vanished.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin adversus "turned against," from ad- "toward" + vertere "to turn." Adversity is fortune turned against you.
Usage Notes
Essay and speech classic: adversity builds character. Pair with verbs like overcome, endure, or triumph over.
Real-life contexts
Use in essays: "Adversity tests leadership like nothing else."
Use in speeches: "We met adversity with unity."
Use in stories: "Her adversity became her biography’s first chapter."
Common Mistakes
Adversity is usually uncountable in this sense; prefer "times of adversity" over "adversities" in formal prose. Do not confuse with aversity, which is not a word.
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Start LearningQuick Facts
Part of Speech
noun
Difficulty
intermediateMonthly Searches
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