MALADAPTATION Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

maladaptation

noun

Definition of maladaptation

as in friction

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of maladaptation Our knack for accommodation increasingly looks like what evolutionary biologists call a maladaptation. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026 For years, maladaptation was given short shrift as research and policy prioritized mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. — Stephen Robert Miller, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2022 This maladaptation to lack of hip stability causes the knee to be unnaturally pinched between the upper leg and lower leg, precipitating damage and pain. — Matt Fitzgerald, Outside Online, 20 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maladaptation

Noun

That friction, between floppy and finely made, sits at the heart of Esh’s ever-evolving vision for his namesake label.

— Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
The frictions in Russia’s wartime economy are growing, as massive military spending balloons the budget deficit.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of friction

Noun

And so my conversation with Noah centered on the idea of a space where there would be a discordance between what the physical space looked like and what was happening emotionally in that room.

— Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2026
Part of that discordance might be the fact that as a genre, rock has historically been difficult to define.

— Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 19 Nov. 2025

Definition of discordance

Noun

The woman’s vanity and the husband’s forgetfulness collide to sow chaos and discord in the house.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
The discord meant the program spent much of the summer hiring replacement correspondents, including Ross Douthat, a conservative New York Times opinion writer with no experience as a TV journalist.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of discord

Noun

Most believe there could be solutions through civil dialog, there are answers in the middle, and there is destructive disunity at the fringes.

— Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 2 June 2026
Whether that agreement will rapidly come to fruition on such a tight timeline is looking increasingly difficult – especially amid disunity among House and Senate Democrats.

— Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026

Definition of disunity

Noun

This week, Levine Cava revealed a planned purge of the county staff working for volunteer Miami-Dade boards that promote diversity and activities aimed at different ethnic or racial groups.

— Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Hegseth has also sought to restore tributes to Confederate soldiers and has attacked military diversity.

— Jeremiah Favara, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of diversity

Noun

October, the best time in the baseball calendar, will be at least a little different this year because of the labor strife that awaits in the offseason.

— Jim Bowden, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Congress created temporary protections in 1990 TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife.

— Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of strife

Noun

And that disparity between the rhetoric that's coming from high-level Republicans in Washington and from these tech CEOs is quite striking.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
This disparity highlights just how much the upper end of Broward’s housing market is outperforming the rest.

— Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of disparity

Noun

In contrast, Nate Coulter, executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System, filed a lawsuit regarding Act 372 of 2023, the common-sense library law, in Fayetteville before liberal Judge Timothy Brooks.

— Robert Steinbuch, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
One more try and the orchestra slides up the expressive contrast a few notches to intensify the feeling of lurching from mood to mood.

— Justin Davidson, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of contrast

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making way

maladaptation

maladies

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“Maladaptation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maladaptation. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of maladaptation

noun

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