adaptation
Pluraladaptations
- 1A change made to something so it fits a new situation or place.
Like changing your clothes to match the weather.
The new wheelchair ramp was a simple adaptation to help everyone get inside.
Workers made small adaptations to the machine so it ran more quietly.
Similarmodification, adjustment, alteration, change
Note
- 2The act of changing something, or getting used to a new situation.
Like slowly getting used to cold water in a pool.
Moving to a new country takes time and a lot of adaptation.
Her quick adaptation to the new school surprised her parents.
Similaradjustment, acclimatization
Note
- 3A book, movie, or play made from a story that first appeared in another form.
Like turning a comic book into a cartoon you can watch.
The movie was an adaptation of her favorite childhood book.
Many popular adaptations leave out scenes from the original novel.
Similarversion
Note
- 4The work of turning a story from one form, like a book, into another, like a film.
Like changing a recipe so it works in a different kind of oven.
Adaptation from page to screen often means cutting long scenes.
The director is skilled at adaptation, turning novels into films.
Note
- 5A body part or behavior that helps an animal or plant live well where it is.
Like an animal having a built-in tool that fits its home.
A camel's hump is an adaptation for living in the desert.
Thick fur and small ears are adaptations to cold climates.
Oppositemaladaptation
Note
- 6The slow way living things change over time to fit where they live.
Like a path slowly forming where many feet walk the same way.
Over millions of years, adaptation made the polar bear's coat white.
Adaptation to dry land was a slow process for the earliest plants.
Oppositemaladaptation
Note
- 7The ways a group of people change how they live to fit new places or times.
Like a family learning new ways to live after moving far away.
Building homes on stilts is a kind of adaptation in flood-prone villages.
Adaptation let early farmers settle in places with harsh winters.
Similaradjustment
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of adaptation apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from French adaptation, which goes back to Latin adaptō, meaning to fit or adjust.