maladaptive
adjective
mal·adap·tive
ˌma-lə-ˈdap-tiv 
1
: marked by poor or inadequate adaptation
2
: not conducive to adaptation
Examples of maladaptive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These behaviors, along with maladaptive beliefs, greatly affect the personal, social, and work lives of people with NPD.1
11 Signs of Borderline Personality Disorder
1.
—
Catherine Dibenedetto, Health, 19 Mar. 2024
Researchers believe that kleptomania may be a maladaptive response to a depressive mood state and the feelings of guilt and shame that follow instances of compulsive stealing can intensify these feelings of depression.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
If left unchecked, these maladaptive thought patterns can lead to debilitating levels of burnout and stress.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024
While evolution by natural selection plays a critical role, historical contingency also leaves its imprint, establishing features that may be suboptimal or even maladaptive.
—Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
Their hunger persists as maladaptive coping mechanisms cannot be satisfied.
—Hazlitt, 27 Sep. 2023
This maladaptive coping strategy can lead to less offline interactions, which could affect one’s ability to cope with real world issues and lead to more problems with isolation, loneliness and worsened depression.
—Brittany Edelmann, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2022
According to a study published in Personality and Individual Differences, maladaptive perfectionism has strong correlations with academic burnout.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
Clinical narcissism protects the ego using maladaptive coping strategies.
—Patricia Fersch, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023
Catherine Dibenedetto, Health, 19 Mar. 2024
Researchers believe that kleptomania may be a maladaptive response to a depressive mood state and the feelings of guilt and shame that follow instances of compulsive stealing can intensify these feelings of depression.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
If left unchecked, these maladaptive thought patterns can lead to debilitating levels of burnout and stress.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024
While evolution by natural selection plays a critical role, historical contingency also leaves its imprint, establishing features that may be suboptimal or even maladaptive.
—Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
Their hunger persists as maladaptive coping mechanisms cannot be satisfied.
—Hazlitt, 27 Sep. 2023
This maladaptive coping strategy can lead to less offline interactions, which could affect one’s ability to cope with real world issues and lead to more problems with isolation, loneliness and worsened depression.
—Brittany Edelmann, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2022
According to a study published in Personality and Individual Differences, maladaptive perfectionism has strong correlations with academic burnout.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023
Clinical narcissism protects the ego using maladaptive coping strategies.
—Patricia Fersch, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maladaptive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near maladaptive
Cite this Entry
“Maladaptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maladaptive. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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