Meaning & use
adventure
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Meanings
nouncountable
An exciting or unusual experience, often involving travel, danger, or the unknown.
Grammar: Takes a plural and often follows have or go on: an adventure in the mountains.
Patterns
- have an adventure
- go on an adventure
- an adventure in somewhere
Their canoe trip turned into a real adventure when the weather changed.
The children imagined a pirate adventure in the garden.
nouncountable or uncountable
A bold undertaking or project whose outcome is uncertain and exciting.
Grammar: Countable for specific undertakings; uncountable in phrases like spirit of adventure.
Patterns
- a bold adventure
- spirit of adventure
- sense of adventure
Starting the bakery together was a financial adventure.
You need a sense of adventure to try foods you cannot name.
Word forms
| plural | adventures |
|---|
Common combinations
- go on an adventure
- Every summer, the cousins go on an adventure somewhere new.
- sense of adventure
- A sense of adventure helps travelers accept missed trains and wrong turns.
- adventure story
- The shelf is full of adventure stories about shipwrecks and lost cities.
- adventure holiday
- They booked an adventure holiday with rafting, hiking, and camping.
Synonyms and how they differ
- escapade
- A short, daring, often mischievous adventure; usually smaller in scale.
- exploit
- Emphasizes a brave or impressive achievement, not merely an exciting experience.
- quest
- A long search or mission with a goal; adventure need not have one.
- venture
- Often implies risk in business or an uncertain project rather than travel and excitement.
Opposites
Word family
- adventurer noun
- A person who seeks exciting, risky experiences.
- adventurous adjective
- Willing to take risks or try new things.
- adventurously adverb
- In a daring or risk-taking way.
Commonly confused: adventure or venture? adventure or misadventure?
adventure vs venture
Venture often suggests commercial risk; adventure suggests excitement, travel, and uncertainty.
adventure vs misadventure
Misadventure adds the idea that things went wrong.
Practice
Which sentence uses the countable sense correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a countable noun meaning separate experiences, adventure takes a plural: many adventures. “Much adventure” would need the uncountable spirit/quality sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adventure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.