MALADAPTATIONS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

maladaptation

noun

Definition of maladaptation

as in friction

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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

Bryan has rarely shied away from friction with powerful figures.

— Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2026
Mercury in your partnership house squares Mars in your 4th, creating friction between another person’s perspective and what feels comfortable or settled to you.

— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 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

Police have not revealed a motive for the attack, but court records exposed months of discord that appeared to be worsening.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
At a time of international discord, supporting Syria’s future has become a rare point of consensus – and the reason largely lies in geography.

— Tala Alrajjal, CNN Money, 29 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

These genomes should reflect the full sequence of both chromosome copies and the diversity of the global population, rather than relying on one person or one ancestral group as a universal standard.

— Euan Ashley, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
The decrease in gut bacteria diversity was tied to expansions in populations of certain bad actors, such as the bacteria Enterococcus faecium.

— Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 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

Personal autonomous vehicles, by contrast, are a natural extension of the company’s 118 years of expertise in building vehicles for individual customers.

— Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
The grim scene was a stark contrast to the flamboyant public life the businessman had cultivated.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 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 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of maladaptation

noun

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