Showing results for "adopted"

• past tense form of adopt.
• past participle of adopt.

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

See Examples For:

adopted

A child born or adopted afterward may not be included unless you update the designation to add their names.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Once adopted, the state plan will set rules that determine how much water can be pumped out of the Delta and how much should stay in rivers and the estuary for fish and the environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The legislation will not affect landlords who rent out their own primary residence for short periods of time -- nor rules cities brought in before it is adopted.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

The trade is regulated by the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations body made up of 176 countries that have adopted its rules on safety, no-trade barriers and environmental protection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

I couldn’t stop wondering about who my biological parents were, what tribe they were from, or why I was adopted in the first place.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Related Words

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