adventure

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ədˈvɛnt͡ʃə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ədˈvɛnt͡ʃɚ/, /ædˈvɛnt͡ʃɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (CA)

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• Hyphenation: ad‧ven‧ture

From Middle English aventure, aunter, anter, from Old French aventure, from Vulgar Latin *adventūra, from Latin adventūrus (“about to arrive, (Vulgar Latin) about to happen”), future active participle of adveniō (“to arrive”), which in the Romance languages took the sense of "to happen, befall" (see also advene).

Compare Scots adventur, Swedish äventyr, German Abenteuer.

adventure (countable and uncountable, plural adventures)

1. (uncountable) A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.

   Antonym: abstention

   his sense of adventure

2. A remarkable occurrence; a striking event.

   A life full of adventures.

3. A daring feat; a bold undertaking, in which dangers are likely to be encountered, and the issue is staked upon unforeseen events; the encountering of risks.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 12, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     He loved excitement and adventure.

4. A mercantile or speculative enterprise of hazard; a venture; a shipment by a merchant on his own account.
5. (video games) A text adventure or an adventure game.
   • 1984 May, “Spyplane”, in Crash‎, number 4, (review):

     The first thing to strike me about Spyplane was that it is more like a verbal simulation than an adventure.

   • 1988 May, Mike Gerrard, “The Guild of Thieves [review]”, in Your Sinclair‎, number 29, archived from the original on 26 May 2013:

     To sum up, I think this is definitely one of the best adventures around for the Spectrum now, along with Gnome Ranger[...]

   • 1992 October, Larry Horsfield, “The SU Guide to Playing and Writing Adventure Games”, in Sinclair User, number 128:

     Before you sit down in front of your Speccy to play an adventure, equip yourself with a pencil, eraser and plenty of paper. This so that you may draw a 'map' of the adventure as you move around.

6. (obsolete) That which happens by chance; hazard; hap.

   Synonyms: fortune, hazard, luck; see also Thesaurus:luck

7. (obsolete) Chance of danger or loss.

   Synonym: hazard

8. (obsolete) Risk; danger; peril.

   Synonyms: jeopardy; see also Thesaurus:danger

   • 1895, Lord Berners, transl., The Chronicles of Froissart:

     He was in great adventure of his life.

• advent
• advene

From Middle English aventuren, auntren, which from Old French aventurer, from aventure.

adventure (third-person singular simple present adventures, present participle adventuring, simple past and past participle adventured)

1. (archaic, transitive) To risk or hazard; jeopard; venture.
   • 1557, Anthony of Gueuara [i.e., Antonio de Guevara], “Where the Auctoure Speaketh of the Byrthe, and Lynage, of the Wyse Philosopher and Emperoure, Marcus Aurelius. […]”, in Thomas North, transl., The Diall of Princes. […], London: […] [Thomas Marsh for] Iohn Waylande, →OCLC, 1st booke, folio 1, verso:

     So it is reaſon, that wher the citizen aduentureth his lyfe, there the citie ſhould doe him ſome honor after his death.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 19:31:

     And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

2. (archaic, transitive) To venture upon; to run the risk of; to dare.
   • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London: Noel Douglas, […], 1928, →OCLC, page 150:

     Yet they adventured to go back; but it was ſo dark, and the flood was ſo high, that in their going back, they had like to have been drowned nine or ten times..

   • c. 1860, Isaac Taylor, Heads in Groups:

     Discriminations might be adventured.

3. (archaic, intransitive) To try the chance; to take the risk.
   • 1792, Anthony à Wood, The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford: […], volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: John Gutch, →OCLC, page 661:

     The year following the ſaid [William] Warham was tranſlated to Canterbury, at whoſe inthronization ſomething occurred relating to this Univerſity; which though a little out of the road, yet I ſhall adventure to remember it, and it is this.

• “adventure”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• aventured, unaverted

adventūre

1. vocative masculine singular of adventūrus

• aventure

From Old French avanture, with the addition of a d to reflect Latin adventūrum.

adventure f (plural adventures)

1. adventure
2. fortune