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adjustment - 5 dictionary results

ad⋅just⋅ment

[uh-juhst-muhnt]
–noun
1. the act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose.
2. the state of being adjusted; orderly relation of parts or elements.
3. a device, as a knob or lever, for adjusting: the adjustments on a television set.
4. the act of bringing something into conformity with external requirements: the adjustment of one's view of reality.
5. harmony achieved by modification or change of a position: They worked out an adjustment of their conflicting ideas.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. a settlement of a disputed account or claim.
9. a change or concession, as in price or other terms, in view of minor defect or the like.

Origin:
1635–45; adjust + -ment


ad⋅just⋅ment⋅al [uh-juhst-men-tl] , adjective
ad·just·ment   (ə-jŭst'mənt)   
n.  
  1. The act of adjusting or the state of being adjusted.
  2. A means of adjusting.
  3. Settlement of a debt or claim.
  4. A modification, fluctuation, or correction: made an adjustment on the telephone bill; an adjustment in the consumer price index.

Adjustment

Ad*just"ment\ (-ment), n. [Cf. F. ajustement. See Adjust.]

1. The act of adjusting, or condition of being adjusted; act of bringing into proper relations; regulation.

Success depends on the nicest and minutest adjustment of the parts concerned. --Paley.

2. (Law) Settlement of claims; an equitable arrangement of conflicting claims, as in set-off, contribution, exoneration, subrogation, and marshaling. --Bispham.

3. The operation of bringing all the parts of an instrument, as a microscope or telescope, into their proper relative position for use; the condition of being thus adjusted; as, to get a good adjustment; to be in or out of adjustment.

Syn: Suiting; fitting; arrangement; regulation; settlement; adaptation; disposition.

Main Entry: ad·just·ment
Pronunciation: &-'j&s(t)-m&nt
Function: noun
1 : the act or process of adjusting: as a : the process of modifying one's behavior in changed circumstances or an altered environment in order to fulfill psychological, physiological, and social needs adjustment tomarriage> b : a functional and often transitory alteration by which an organism adapts to its immediate environment —compare ADAPTATION 2b
2 : a means (as a mechanism) by which things are adjusted one to another adjustment for focusing a microscope> —ad·just·men·tal /&-"j&s(t)-'ment-&l, "aj-"&s(t)-/ adjective
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