adaptationaladj.
/ˌadəpˈteɪʃn̩(ə)l/, /ˌadapˈteɪʃn̩(ə)l/, /ˌadəpˈteɪʃən(ə)l/, /ˌadapˈteɪʃən(ə)l/, U.S. /ˌædæpˈteɪʃ(ə)nəl/, /ˌædəpˈteɪʃ(ə)nəl/ Of or relating to adaptation.
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adaptational1849
1849 J. M. Wilson Rural Cycl. IV. 254 Their adaptational characters, for the various kinds of ordinary cropping, are instructively glanced at in the last column of the tabular classification of soils.
1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. ii. 42 The modifications which insect larvæ undergo may be divided into two kinds—developmental..and adaptational or adaptive; those which tend to suit them to their own mode of life.
1943 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 8 503/2 He adumbrates much of modern behavioristic, adaptational psychology.
1979 Nature 15 Nov. 233/3 The adaptational strategy of certain polar organisms.
2002 Jrnl. Pediatric Psychol. 27 638/2 Child development refers to the adaptational processes that occur as children acquire increasingly complex skills.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1849