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

Categories include multifamily construction, affordable housing construction, affordable housing preservation and construction of adaptive reuse projects, such as turning empty commercial buildings into housing.

From Los Angeles Times

She joined the National Ability Center in Utah, which specialized in adaptive sports, so that she could learn to snowboard with accommodations.

From Los Angeles Times

Our response must be adaptive, experimental and iterative: a continuous process of design evolution, shaped by trial and error, much like nature itself.

From Los Angeles Times

One of the City Council’s adopted legislative platform priorities is to advocate for the adaptive reuse of the former Norconian Hotel and Resort property.

From Los Angeles Times

As well as examining the history of Ingleborough, the project also looked at ways to engage today's farmers in sustainable and adaptive land management practices.

From BBC

Related Words

• flexible