adjustment

[uh-juhst-muh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adjustment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose.

the state of being adjusted; orderly relation of parts or elements.

a device, as a knob or lever, for adjusting: the adjustments on a television set.

the act of bringing something into conformity with external requirements: the adjustment of one's view of reality.

harmony achieved by modification or change of a position: They worked out an adjustment of their conflicting ideas.

Sociology. a process of modifying, adapting, or altering individual or collective patterns of behavior so as to bring them into conformity with other such patterns, as with those provided by a cultural environment.

Insurance. the act of ascertaining the amount of indemnity that the party insured is entitled to receive under the policy, and of settling the claim.

a settlement of a disputed account or claim.

a change or concession, as in price or other terms, in view of minor defect or the like.

Nearby words

Origin of adjustment

First recorded in 1635–45; adjust + -ment

Related forms

ad·just·ment·al

[uh-juhst-men-tl] /ə dʒʌstˈmɛn tl/, adjectivemis·ad·just·ment, nounnon·ad·just·ment, nouno·ver·ad·just·ment, noun

pre·ad·just·ment, nounun·der·ad·just·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adjustment

Think of the embarrassing subway platform or mid-office “adjustment” debacles you could avoid!
Would You Pay $100 For a 50 Cent Bulge? Men’s Undies Get Expensive|James Joiner|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What the hell would go to all the trouble—if he could make the “adjustment” in a “normal” way.
Elia Kazan to Tennessee Williams: You Gotta Suffer to Sing the Blues|Elia Kazan|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it is ordinary people who are going to be hit hard by this and it is going to be a long and painful process of adjustment.
Crimeans Are Resigned To Pro-Russia Vote|Jamie Dettmer|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But that $450 billion adjustment is more than the GDP of most of the countries in the world.
Republicans Must Engage the Tough Politics of Illegal Immigration|Stuart Stevens|June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As a result, most of the adjustment burden will be mostly borne by the city's workers, past and present.
Saving Detroit: When a Big City Stops Being Big|Megan McArdle|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His advice was invariably good, and his decisions on questions referred to him for adjustment were always acquiesced in.
A Prince of Anahuac|James A. Porter
It may be that, having made up my mind before leaving England, I accomplished a final wrench and adjustment.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Madame Valière patted the wig, as much in approbation as in adjustment.
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill
This is the price which a man pays for the adjustment of his brain and hand to the needs of the time.
She Buildeth Her House|Will Comfort
When such ideals are held in mind, an adjustment of conduct follows at once.
Child and Country|Will Levington Comfort

British Dictionary definitions for adjustment

adjustment

noun

the act of adjusting or state of being adjusted

a control for regulatingthe adjustment for volume is beside the speaker

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adjustment

adjustment

1640s, from French ajustement or else a native formation from adjust (v.) + -ment.

adjustment

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of adjustment

Examples from the Web for adjustment

adjustment

noun

adjustment