maladjustment

American  

[mal-uh-juhst-muhnt] / ˌmæl əˈdʒʌst mənt /

noun

1. bad or unsatisfactory adjustment.

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maladjustment British  

/ ˌmæləˈdʒʌstmənt /

noun

1. psychol a failure to meet the demands of society, such as coping with problems and social relationships: usually reflected in emotional instability

2. faulty or bad adjustment

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maladjustment Cultural  

1. Inability to react successfully and satisfactorily to the demands of one's environment. Though the term applies to a wide range of biological and social conditions, it often implies an individual's failure to meet social or cultural expectations. In psychology, the term generally refers to unsatisfactory behavior patterns that cause anxiety and require psychotherapy.

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Etymology

Origin of maladjustment

First recorded in 1825–35; mal- + adjustment

Example Sentences

When Jessie climbs onto a roof to survey the cause of her owner’s maladjustment, she sees a neighborhood of silent, stationary children sucked into their online devices.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

To be clear: I am not suggesting that intelligence across the full range of scores is generally related to maladjustment.

From Scientific American • Feb. 10, 2019

Studies show that child survivors of a parent’s suicide might as adults be susceptible to depression, social maladjustment and post-traumatic stress disorder.

From Golf Digest • Jul. 12, 2018

The N.I.M.H.’s own data showed that these centers were largely treating not people with severe mental illness, but those with “social maladjustment or no mental disorder” — better known as the worried well.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2014

By 1977, Scruggs had written articles for The Washington Post and Military Medicine exposing the maladjustment of veterans who’d seen heavy combat.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• insanity
• mental disorder