Native speaker mistakes: ‘averse’ vs ‘adverse’ (words that are often confused)
I saw this post by an IELTS teacher who is well-known for copying other teachers’ work.
Here, he talks about how he has copied someone else’s LinkedIn headline by changing a few words:
He says he is ‘ADVERSE*’ to self-publication (I think he means ‘self-promotion’. ‘Self-publication’ is when you publish your own books).
‘ADVERSE’ means ‘negative’ or ‘harmful’.
It collocates with ‘effect’:
e.g. ‘Fossil fuels have an adverse effect on the environment’
and events are often cancelled due to “adverse weather conditions”.
But if you are ‘AVERSE’ to something, it means you have a strong dislike of something e.g.
- “I’m AVERSE to people who steal other people’s work”.
- “I have a strong AVERSION to dishonest people’.
Be careful about who you follow for IELTS advice - please feel free to check with me first and I’ll do some research for you.
What are you averse to?
See the example below about a UK politician who is “tax-averse”:
You often see “risk-averse” used like this (someone who doesn’t like taking risks).
Review the pronunciation of high-level words like ‘aversion’ and ‘delusion’:
