adversesvsaverseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: adverses is a adjective, averse is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“adverses” is an adjective and “averse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,630
“adverses” frequency rank
#28,451
“averse” frequency rank
49081
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature adverses averse
Definition Pluriel de adverse. Pluie soudaine, abondante et généralement brève.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set adverses and averse apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
adverses
6 ch
averse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: adverses is \ad.vɛʁs\ while averse is \a.vɛʁs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

adverses is recorded at frequency rank #20,630, classified as anadj, pronounced \ad.vɛʁs\. averse is at rank #28,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.vɛʁs\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 49081, this pair ranks #173,625 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of adverses vs averse

Shared letters: aersv. Private to "adverses": d. Private to "averse": -.

"adverses" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "averse" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • adversesaddverses · adevrses · adveress · adverrses · adversess · adversses · advesres · advreses
  • averseaevrse · averrse · avesre · avrese · avverse · vaerse

Frequency comparison

adverses#20,630
averse#28,451

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "adverses" and "averse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "adverses" is an adjective and "averse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "adverses" or "averse"?
"adverses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,630 in our French list, against #28,451 for "averse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering adverses vs averse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “adverses”; for a noun, it's “averse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “adverses” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list