adaptive

[uh-dap-tiv]

adjective

1. serving or able to adapt; showing or contributing to adaptation.

   the adaptive coloring of a chameleon.

Other Word Forms

• adaptively adverb
• adaptiveness noun
• adaptivity noun
• nonadaptive adjective
• readaptive adjective
• readaptively adverb
• readaptiveness noun
• unadaptive adjective
• unadaptively adverb
• unadaptiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of adaptive¹

First recorded in 1815–25; adapt + -ive

Example Sentences

The startup essentially tailors microbes using a technique known as adaptive laboratory evolution—gradually exposing the organisms to conditions such as high arsenic or salty water.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In contrast, he says, "The brain learns by moving ions across membranes, achieving energy-efficient and adaptive learning directly in hardware, or more precisely, in what people may call 'wetware'."

Read more on Science Daily

Advocates like Lehigh’s Rivera see a future of AI-assisted coaching and adaptive learning systems that can link individual performance to organizational strategy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They used robotic systems to guide the microbes through two rounds of high-throughput adaptive laboratory evolution, a process designed to help the cells gradually improve their performance.

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Some new cars with "adaptive features" adjust the lamps automatically if there is a change in load, but cars without that will need manual adjusting, Mr Broberg said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• flexible