adversus

Adversus is a Latin adjective meaning "against," "opposed," or "hostile," and in some senses "facing" or "toward." It agrees with the noun it modifies and has the masculine, feminine, and neuter forms adversus, adversa, adversum. The word derives from ad- meaning "toward" plus versus, the perfect passive participle of vertere, meaning "turned," literally "turned toward" or "turned against."

In classical usage, adversus describes something oriented toward or opposed to another thing and is used to convey confrontation or opposition. It appears in inscriptions and prose to express contrast, hostility, or facing a direction, and it can modify nouns to indicate a stance or posture relative to another entity.

In modern contexts, adversus appears chiefly in scholarly Latin texts, liturgical Latin, or in contexts where Latin terminology is used for stylistic or academic purposes. It is not common in everyday English. The term also serves as a linguistic root for related English words such as adverse and adversary, which derive from Latin roots connected to the idea of turning toward or against.