adventure

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ədˈvɛnt͡ʃɚ/, /ædˈvɛnt͡ʃɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ədˈvɛnt͡ʃə/
• Hyphenation: ad‧ven‧ture

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From Middle English aventure, aunter, anter, borrowed from Old French aventure, from Late Latin adventurus, from Latin advenire, adventum (“to arrive”), which in the Romance languages took the sense of "to happen, befall" (see also advene).

adventure (countable and uncountable, plural adventures)

1. The encountering of risks; hazardous and striking enterprise; a bold undertaking, in which hazards are to be encountered, and the issue is staked upon unforeseen events; a daring feat.
   • Macaulay

     He loved excitement and adventure.

2. A remarkable occurrence; a striking event

   A life full of adventures.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

3. A mercantile or speculative enterprise of hazard; a venture; a shipment by a merchant on his own account.
4. (uncountable) A feeling of desire for new and exciting things

   his sense of adventure

5. (video games) A text adventure or an adventure game.
   • 1984, Spyplane (review, in Crash, issue 4, May 1984)

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

   • 1988, Mike Gerrard, The Guild Of Thieves (review, in Your Sinclair, issue 29, May 1988)

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

   • 1992, Larry Horsfield, The SU Guide to Playing and Writing Adventure Games (in Sinclair User magazine, issue 128, October 1992)

     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
7. (obsolete) Chance of danger or loss.
8. (obsolete) Risk; danger; peril.
   • Berners

     He was in great adventure of his life.

• abstention, peradventure, unadventurous

• at all adventures

• 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. (transitive) To risk or hazard; jeopard; venture.
   • Bible, Acts xix. 31

     He would not adventure himself into the theatre.

2. (transitive) To venture upon; to run the risk of; to dare.
   • Bunyan

     Yet they adventured to go back.

   • J. Taylor

     Discriminations might be adventured.

3. (intransitive) To try the chance; to take the risk.
   • 1792, Anthony à Wood, The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford: In Two Books‎, volume 1, Oxford: John Gutch, OCLC 642441055, 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.

• adventurer
• adventuresome
• adventuress
• adventurous
• adventurously
• adventurousness

• adventure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• aventured, unaverted

adventūre

1. vocative masculine singular of adventūrus

• aventure

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

adventure f (plural adventures)

1. adventure
2. fortune