adventurous
- 01 B1 Intermediate
willing to try new or difficult things, or enjoying exciting experiences.
inclined to engage in new or risky experiences; possessing a daring or enterprising spirit.
Simple“The adventurous travelers decided to hike through the jungle without a guide.”
In context“An adventurous entrepreneur might see a market crash not as a disaster, but as a unique opportunity to invest in emerging technologies.”
UsageUsually describes people, their character, or their choices.
Teacher's tipIn modern English, this is almost always a positive trait, suggesting courage and curiosity rather than recklessness.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
full of danger, excitement, and new experiences.
characterised by risk, hazard, or excitement; involving a series of bold or dangerous events.
Simple“They had an adventurous trip across the mountains, despite the bad weather.”
In context“The memoir details the author's adventurous life as a war correspondent in the late twentieth century.”
UsageOften modifies nouns like 'life', 'trip', 'journey', or 'career'.
Teacher's tipWhen applied to an event or period of time, it implies that many unexpected things happened.
From Middle English aventurous, aunterous, auntrous, from Old French aventuros (whence French aventureux). By surface analysis, adventure + -ous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.