maladapted
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of maladapted
First recorded in 1940–45; mal- + adapted ( def. )
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.
His macho posturing is maladapted, only escalating Trina’s troubles and sending him back to his couch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
That blithe attitude has been fundamental to many of Shannon’s best-known characters, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, the maladapted but plucky schoolgirl who was her signature role on “S.N.L.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2022
A bacteria that devotes its energy to fixing nitrogen is woefully maladapted for life in the wild.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2018
Suddenly maladapted, these insects became targets for hungry birds, and that caused a domino effect1.
From Nature ● Jan. 30, 2018
One problem is that some fish passages are maladapted to the fishes they were built to help.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 20, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
