Adverse vs Averse: Harmful Conditions or Personal Opposition?

Adverse describes something harmful or unfavourable. Averse describes a person or attitude that is strongly disinclined.

adverse weather, adverse effects / She is averse to unnecessary risk.

Collocation reveals the difference

Adverse commonly modifies circumstances, consequences and effects. Averse is especially common after be and normally takes to.

Record the words with their typical partners. That method is developed in the collocation notebook and the C1 vocabulary plan.

A useful semantic contrast

Adverse evaluates an external condition or consequence. Averse locates reluctance in a person or group. That difference explains why adverse to risk is usually wrong when the intended meaning is “unwilling to take risk”: the natural phrase is averse to risk.