adaptive
serving or able to adapt; showing or contributing to adaptation: the adaptive coloring of a chameleon.
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Origin of adaptive
1Other words from adaptive
- a·dap·tive·ly, adverb
- a·dap·tive·ness, noun
- ad·ap·tiv·i·ty [ad-ap-tiv-i-tee], /ˌæd æpˈtɪv ɪ ti/, noun
- non·a·dap·tive, adjective
- re·a·dap·tive, adjective
- re·a·dap·tive·ly, adverb
- re·a·dap·tive·ness, noun
- un·a·dap·tive, adjective
- un·a·dap·tive·ly, adverb
- un·a·dap·tive·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with adaptive
- adaptive , adoptive
Words Nearby adaptive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use adaptive in a sentence
The even darker side of smart is that competition doesn’t just select an ability to manipulate but also an adaptive ability to be unpredictable.
Their specificity is related to their long-lasting effects, because vaccines engage the adaptive branch of the immune system — the B and T lymphocytes and antibodies that recognize a given pathogen.
‘Trained Immunity’ Offers Hope in Fight Against Coronavirus | Esther Landhuis | September 14, 2020 | Quanta MagazineMany of the gene losses involved traits that the animals no longer needed, but Hiller proposes that at least one loss was adaptive.
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity | Viviane Callier | September 1, 2020 | Quanta MagazineThere’s also a clever adaptive-suspension system, which uses a dozen sensors to scan the road then instantly make adjustments so the Aviator can glide smoothly over potholes.
In A Grand Journey, from Après Visuals, we get an intimate look into this adaptive athlete’s unique path to the summit.
To see the adaptive benefits of depression, it helps to consider certain cruel but illuminating studies.
One sign that depression is an adaptive behavioral response is its widespread presence in the animal kingdom.
She loves to be outdoors,” Lori says, “She loves to swim and to ride her adaptive bike.
The Shutdown’s Human Cost: A Family’s Hopes at NIH Put on Hold | Michael Daly | October 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat adaptive technology has been the most useful or important for you?
‘The Paralyzed Bride’ Talks Life & Sex as a 27-Year-Old Quadriplegic | | February 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat area/tasks would you most like to see more adaptive technology developed for?
‘The Paralyzed Bride’ Talks Life & Sex as a 27-Year-Old Quadriplegic | | February 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThough the squirrels have taken to the trees, there has been no adaptive change in the structure of their limbs and feet.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisThose closely related to human infancy, adapting and adjusting the child to the world in which he lives, may be called adaptive.
The Science of Human Nature | William Henry PyleTheir foreheads are meaner, and their eyes hard, but the whole face rather more adaptive and in touch with life.
Letters from America | Rupert BrookeThe adaptive or "special organising force" or ἰδέα, on the other hand, produces the diversity of organic 112beings.
Form and Function | E. S. (Edward Stuart) RussellSomehow, the plague incubation period had been shortened to fit their life span; the disease was nothing if not adaptive.
Badge of Infamy | Lester del Rey
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