adopted
Britishadjective
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"As such, we looked at the wider pattern of offences this year in relation to the Orange hall and adopted a different policing approach," McManus said.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
“We have adopted a conservative stance on both these measures and forecast underlying Ebitda of A$162.3 million,” analyst Steve Wheen says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Late in the convention, the delegates adopted the additional phrase “or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” in important part to expand the reach of impeachable corruption beyond technical bribery.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
Barack Obama -- whose "Yes, we can" slogan he acknowledged he adopted from Dolores' "Sí se puede" -- awarded her the presidential medal of freedom when he was in the White House.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Chip and Jonah were both adopted thirteen years ago.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
