adopted

British  

/ əˈdɒptɪd /

adjective

1. having been adopted Compare adoptive

   an adopted child

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Explanation

Something that's adopted has been deliberately chosen. Your adopted country is the place where you choose to live, not necessarily the one in which you're born. If you describe yourself as adopted, it means that you were taken in and raised by parents who didn't give birth to you. Just as your adoptive parents chose you to be their child, other adopted things are also chosen: an adopted language is one you learn and then choose to speak, and an adopted state is the place you freely decide to live in. The Latin root is adoptare, "choose for oneself."

Example Sentences

The 25th Amendment was adopted after the assassination of President Kennedy.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026

From that point on, a zero tolerance approach was adopted.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

“It’s disgusting,” said Janice Lintz, a veteran traveler who’s visited more than 170 countries, about the a la carte pricing model airlines have adopted.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

“Crank” is often adopted by modern writers as a colorful old-timey word.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

In his own games Bobby began employing some of Lipnitsky’s suggestions and adopted a plan called the Lipnitsky Attack when playing against the Sicilian Defense.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• accessible
• familiar
• prevalent
• public
• rampant
• ubiquitous
• universal