adverse

/ˈæd.və(ɹ)s/

//ˈæd.və(ɹ)s// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adverse" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adverse” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,382. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,382
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Unfavorable; antagonistic in purpose or effect; hostile; actively opposing one's interests or wishes; contrary to one's welfare; acting against; working in an opposing direction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adverse · adverse · English

adverse · rank #8,382 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,382
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH accessed

Nearest frequency peer: accessed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adverse”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “adverse” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adverse vs advise
71% similar
adverse vs advert
71% similar
adverse vs averse
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adverse
PropertyValue
Headwordadverse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈæd.və(ɹ)s/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,382
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adverse”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).adverselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “accessed” (#8,381), “aiming” (#8,383), “withdrawn” (#8,380). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adverse” is #8,382. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around adverse (IPA /ˈæd.və(ɹ)s/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,382 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for adverse, with forms such as "addverse", "adevrse", and "adveres". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "advise", "advert", "averse", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested around 1374, from Old French avers (French adverse), from Latin adversus (“turned against”), past participle of advertere, from ad- (“to”) + vertere (“to turn”). See also versus. The correct English form is adverse, spelled A-D-V-E-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unfavorable; antagonistic in purpose or effect; hostile; actively opposing one's interests or wishes; contrary to one's welfare; acting against; working in an opposing direction.
  2. 2
    Opposed; contrary; opposing one's interests or desire.
  3. 3
    Opposite; confronting.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adverse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. adverse criticism
  2. adverse weather

Etymology

First attested around 1374, from Old French avers (French adverse), from Latin adversus (“turned against”), past participle of advertere, from ad- (“to”) + vertere (“to turn”). See also versus.

Antonyms

proverse

This word in other languages

adverso(Español)défavorable(Français)widrig(Deutsch)adverso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addverse
  • adevrse
  • adveres
  • adverrse
  • adversse
  • advesre
  • advrese
  • advverse
  • avderse
  • daverse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adverse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

addverse1adevrse2adveres2adverrse1adversse1advesre2advrese2advverse1
Edit distance from "adverse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adverse"?
"adverse" is spelled A-D-V-E-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæd.və(ɹ)s/.
What does "adverse" mean?
As an adjective, "adverse" means: Unfavorable; antagonistic in purpose or effect; hostile; actively opposing one's interests or wishes; contrary to one's welfare; acting against; working in an opposing direction.
What words are commonly confused with "adverse"?
"adverse" is commonly confused with "advise", "advert", "averse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adverse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adverse" is /ˈæd.və(ɹ)s/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adverse"?
First attested around 1374, from Old French avers (French adverse), from Latin adversus (“turned against”), past participle of advertere, from ad- (“to”) + vertere (“to turn”). See also versus. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adverse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bastard#8,389trinity#8,371browser#8,395striker#8,358

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

cellular10 variantsterrific10 variantsdislike10 variantsdoubled10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list