The Difference Between “Adverse” and “Averse”

Adverse and Averse are two adjectives that have different meanings, though they are closely related. Adverse can describe any negative situation; however, averse describes a person who wishes to avoid something.

Adverse can only be used to describe situations and forces, not people or ideas, for example:

Correct: Does this medication have any adverse effects?

Correct: The adverse weather made us stay at home.

Incorrect: *The terrorists are adverse people.

Incorrect: *Your adverse ideas will hurt people.

Averse also needs to be used in a very specific way. Only people can be averse to something, and one cannot simply be averse, with no object; one must be averse to something, for example:

Correct: I am averse to inviting any fascists to our party.

Correct: I am averse to pineapple on pizza.

Incorrect: *My averse friend always finds an excuse to stay home.

Incorrect: *He’s always so averse, he’s not any fun.

The stem -verse means “turn” in Latin and occurs in countless English words, e.g. reverse, converse, and inverse.

How to Use Adverse in a Sentence: 10 Sentence Examples

1. To the public's dismay, the adverse effects of the drug were not fully tested.
2. The adverse weather will also have an impact on attendance.
3. It's often claimed that responses to adverse life events are unpredictable and variable because they depend on many factors including personality, upbringing, and life circumstances.
4. There was no adverse reaction to this medication in any of the patients who took it in clinical trials.
5. It may be easy to overlook the connection, but the adverse effects of climate change are driving the phenomenon of climate refugees.
6. Many of the residents can no longer tolerate the adverse conditions, and they have to leave their homes.
7. When our plane was delayed, it was an adverse experience for me.
8. This new legislation will have an adverse effect on our business, but lawmakers are unmoved by this fact.
9. She may not be able to perform her duties because of her illness's adverse effects on her mobility. 
10. The higher interest rates will have a potentially adverse impact on housing prices in my neighborhood.

How to Use Averse in a Sentence: 10 Sentence Examples

1. She was averse to taking out the trash after work because she wasn't feeling well.
2. He was averse to going on vacation with his family, even though he had very little work that week.
3. I'm averse to taking risks in life and would rather stay at home and watch TV all day.
4. I am not averse to the idea of eating some cake, just not this one please.
5. Unsurprisingly, he became gradually more receptive of her ideas and less averse over time.
6. She was averse to the idea of buying it second-hand because she felt that it would not look as good as if she had bought it new.
7. He was averse to his own appearance, not liking the way he looked in the mirror.
8. He was averse to the idea when I suggested it.
9. The company has taken an averse stance on the project.
10. The company may be averse to change, but they will have to adapt in order to stay in business.