maladaptive

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparablemedical

   Describing a way of thinking or behaving that fails to help a person cope and tends to make problems worse.

   Grammar: Usually placed before a noun: maladaptive behavior; also after a verb: that habit is maladaptive.

   Patterns

   • maladaptive behavior
   • maladaptive coping

   Avoiding every social event is a maladaptive way of managing anxiety.

   The therapist helped him replace maladaptive thought patterns with healthier ones.

   Constant self-criticism can become maladaptive over time.

2. 2adjectivenot comparablebiology

   Of a trait in biology, reducing an organism's chance of surviving or reproducing in its environment.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a maladaptive trait.

   Patterns

   • maladaptive trait
   • maladaptive in something

   A bright color that attracts predators is maladaptive for a small bird.

   The mutation proved maladaptive in the colder climate.

   Researchers studied traits that had become maladaptive after the habitat changed.

Common combinations

maladaptive behavior

Teachers noticed the maladaptive behavior in the student.

maladaptive coping

Heavy drinking can be maladaptive coping with stress.

maladaptive thoughts

Cognitive therapy targets maladaptive thoughts.

maladaptive response

Panic was a maladaptive response to the small setback.

maladaptive trait

The trait became a maladaptive one once predators arrived.

Synonyms and how they differ

unhealthy

Unhealthy is the everyday word for harmful habits, while maladaptive is a clinical term for patterns that fail to fit the situation.

counterproductive

Counterproductive describes any action that undermines its own goal, while maladaptive is tied to coping and adjustment.

dysfunctional

Dysfunctional describes things that work badly in general, while maladaptive focuses on poor adjustment to circumstances.

Opposites

Word family

adapt verb

to change to suit new conditions

adaptive adjective

helping an organism or person adjust

adaptation noun

a change that helps survival or fit

maladaptation noun

a poor or harmful adjustment

Commonly confused: maladaptive or maladjusted?

Practice

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