maladaptive
/ˌmæləˈdæptɪv/adjective
maladaptive is spelled M-A-L-A-D-A-P-T-I-V-E: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, maladaptive means “Of behavior, showing inadequate or counterproductive mental and behavioral adaptation to a new situation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in maladaptive?
| Letters | 11: M-A-L-A-D-A-P-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is maladaptive?
Maladaptive appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce maladaptive?
- UK /ˌmæləˈdæptɪv/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of maladaptive
- more maladaptive comparative
- most maladaptive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does maladaptive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of behavior, showing inadequate or counterproductive mental and behavioral adaptation to a new situation.
- 2
Of anatomy, physiology, or behavior, showing inadequate or counterproductive evolutionary adaptation to an environment or its changes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Maladaptive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | maladaptiv, ungeschickt, unangepasst, fehlangepasst, schlecht angepasst |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.