1
Biological adjustment
An inherited feature that improves survival or reproduction.
Example
The lizard's pale colouring is an adaptation to the sandy habitat.
adaptation
/ˌædæpˈteɪʃən/ · ad-ap-TAY-shuhnnoun
A change made to accommodate new circumstances; also a work reshaped for a new form.
Use adaptation for an adjustment that improves fit with an environment or situation, or for a story transformed into another medium.
What adaptation Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Practical modification
A change made so a system or practice suits new conditions.
Example
Remote monitoring was an adaptation to limited field access.
3
Creative transformation
A work rewritten or redesigned for another medium or audience.
Example
The film adaptation condenses several of the novel's subplots.
Use adaptation Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The lizard's pale colouring is an adaptation to the sandy habitat.
The revised schedule was a practical adaptation to seasonal flooding.
The stage adaptation preserves the memoir's fragmented structure.
Precision Matters
Adaptation overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
adaptation
vs.Often implies enduring fit with a new environment or medium.
adjustment
Is any small or practical change.
adaptation
vs.Modifies something in response to conditions.
innovation
Introduces a new idea, method, or product.
adaptation
vs.Can refer to a particular inherited feature.
evolution
Is the broader process of biological change across generations.
adaptation
vs.May transform an earlier work.
original
Is created independently rather than adapted.
Test adaptation in Context
The inherited feature improves the plant's fit with its environment.
1
The plant's waxy leaf coating reduces water loss and is therefore considered an ___ to the region's long dry season.