Adversity
[əd'vɜːsɪtɪ] or [əd'vɝsəti]
Definition
(noun.) a stroke of ill fortune; a calamitous event; 'a period marked by adversities'.
(noun.) a state of misfortune or affliction; 'debt-ridden farmers struggling with adversity'; 'a life of hardship'.
Inputed by Cole--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Opposition; contrariety.
Inputed by Antonia
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Misfortune, calamity, affliction, trouble, suffering, woe, disaster, distress, misery, ill-luck, bad luck, broken fortunes, hard life, frowns of fortune.
Inputed by Gretchen
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Ill-luck, misfortune, misery, calamity, disaster, distress, unsuccess, failure,ruin, trouble, affliction, sorrow
ANT:Good-luck, prosperity, happiness, success, advancement
Typed by Geraldine
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream that you are in the clutches of adversity, denotes that you will have failures and continued bad prospects. To see others in adversity, portends gloomy surroundings, and the illness of some one will produce grave fears of the successful working of plans. The old dream books give this as a sign of coming prosperity. This definition is untrue. There are two forces at work in man, one from within and the other from without. They are from two distinct spheres; the animal mind influenced by the personal world of carnal appetites, and the spiritual mind from the realm of universal Brotherhood, present antagonistic motives on the dream consciousness. If these two forces were in harmony, the spirit or mental picture from the dream mind would find a literal fulfilment in the life of the dreamer. The pleasurable sensations of the body cause the spirit anguish. The selfish enrichment of the body impoverishes the spirit influence upon the Soul. The trials of adversity often cause the spirit to rejoice and the flesh to weep. If the cry of the grieved spirit is left on the dream mind it may indicate to the dreamer worldly advancement, but it is hardly the theory of the occult forces, which have contributed to the contents of this book.
Typist: Portia
Unserious Contents or Definition
A bottomless lake, surrounded by near-sighted friends.
Checker: Sigmund
Examples
- Better die at once--better plunge a poinard in her bosom, still untouched by drear adversity, and then again sheathe it in my own! Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- The appetite for admiration and small capacity for self-controul which I inherited from my father, nursed by adversity, made me daring and reckless. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Prosperity is denominated ascent, and adversity descent. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- It came to Clennam in his adversity, strongly and tenderly. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Our world to-day seems to be emerging with fluctuations from a prolonged phase of adversity and extreme conditions. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Adversity might set against him her most sullen front: he was the man to beat her down with smiles. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But if you have friends in adversity, stand by them. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Adversity gave me and my mother one passing scowl and brush, but we defied her, or rather laughed at her, and she went by. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Sharers of Wilfred's dangers and adversity, they remained, as they had a right to expect, the partakers of his more prosperous career. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- But Caroline Beaufort possessed a mind of an uncommon mould; and her courage rose to support her in her adversity. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- It was plain to those who looked upon the mother's altered face, that death must soon close the scene of her adversity and trial. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- It comes with sickness, it comes with sorrow, it comes with the loss of the dearly loved, it is one of the most frequent uses of adversity. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
Edited by Lester