:''For other uses, see [[Adventure (disambiguation)]].''
[[Image:Adventure.JPG|right|thumb|250px|A personification of adventure as represented by a [[statue]] in [[The American Adventure]] in the World Showcase pavilion of [[Walt Disney World]]'s [[Epcot]].]]
An '''adventure''' is an activity that comprises [[risk]]y, dangerous and uncertain experiences. The term is more popularly used in reference to physical activities that have some potential for danger, such as [[skydiving]], [[mountain climbing]], and [[extreme sports]]. The term is broad enough to refer to any enterprise that is potentially fraught with risk, such as a business venture or a major life undertaking. An [[adventurer]] is a person who bases their lifestyle or their fortunes on adventurous acts.

Adventurous experiences create psychological and physiological [[arousal]], which can be interpreted as negative (e.g. [[fear]]) or positive (e.g. [[flow (psychology)|flow]]), and which can become a detriment as per the [[Yerkes-Dodson law]]. For some people, adventure becomes a major pursuit in and of itself.

Adventurous activities are typically undertaken for the purposes of recreation or excitement, such as multi-sport [[adventure racing]] or a traveler's [[adventure tourism]]. However, an adventurous activity can lead to gains in knowledge, such as in the case of the numerous pioneers who have explored and charted the Earth and, in recent times, traveled into space and to the Moon. As a more modern example, [[adventure education]] makes use of challenging experiences for learning.

In the context of a [[narrative]], the adventure [[genre]] is typically applied to works in which the protagonist or other major characters are consistently placed in dangerous situations, and a [[fictional character|character]] who lives by their wits and their skills is often called an adventurer. [[Adventure novel]]s and [[adventure film]]s are both prominent genres in their respective media, although the latter has fallen out of the spotlight with the rise of the modern-style [[action film]]. In [[game]]s, the term is less consistently applied: the term "[[adventure game]]" is used in reference to [[video game]] that make use of exploration, while [[role-playing game]]s use the term "[[adventure (role-playing games)|adventure]]" in reference to specific pre-planned segments of gameplay.
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[[es:Aventura]]
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[[ja:冒険]]
[[ru:Авантюра]]
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