adjustment
Pluraladjustments
- 1A minor change, correction, or modification made to something; the result of adjusting it.
A minor adjustment to the recipe improved the flavor considerably.
The mechanic's careful adjustment quieted the engine noise.
Similarchange, modification
- 2The act of changing or correcting something so that it fits, works, or performs better.
The adjustment of the telescope's focus revealed the distant galaxy.
Frequent adjustment of the controls kept the machine running smoothly.
Similarchange, correction, modification
Note
Two routes lead to the same word: it was borrowed from French ajustement, or built at home from adjust plus -ment. That suffix names both a doing and its outcome, which is why this sense shades so easily into the "small change" meaning. Here the weight falls on the process itself, often followed by of and the thing being set right: the adjustment of the focus.
- 3In psychology, the way a person behaves to reconcile competing needs, or to meet needs despite obstacles in their surroundings.
His adjustment to civilian life after the war was slow but steady.
Healthy adjustment means meeting your own needs without ignoring the demands of others.
Similaradaptation, acclimatization
Oppositemaladjustment
- 4An insurance company's assessment of a claim, and the settlement reached from that assessment.
The adjustment of the flood claim required two site visits by the assessor.
Disputes over the adjustment delayed payment for several months.
Similarsettlement, assessment
- 5The process of settling or balancing the figures in a financial account.
The accountant's adjustment of the ledger corrected last quarter's error.
Final adjustment of the account showed a small surplus.
Similarreconciliation, balancing
Note
On a statement or a bill, the word often names a single correcting entry rather than a final reckoning. A credit card company makes an adjustment to an account when it waives a late fee. The verb is make and the preposition is to, while the balancing of a whole ledger takes of. Use make an adjustment to for one correction and the adjustment of for the settling as a whole.
Practice
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Origin
From French ajustement, or else formed from adjust plus the suffix -ment.