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
Many appear maladapted to land: “There are those who would call our devotion to the pool excessive, if not pathological,” our narrators tell us.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 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.
