maladapting
Coping badly, worsening
Maladapting describes the process of adjusting poorly or harmfully to circumstances, developing responses that ultimately work against one's wellbeing or survival.
Where adapting suggests beneficial change, maladapting emphasizes responses that backfire: The species was maladapting to the polluted environment, developing traits that made survival harder.
The term appears in psychology to describe coping mechanisms that provide short-term relief but cause long-term damage, and in biology for evolutionary responses that prove counterproductive.
State of being isolated
- maladjustmentFailure to adapt properly
- anomieBreakdown of shared standards
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
displacement · disaffection · isolation · marginalization · exclusion · outcast · deviance · disconnection
Failure to adapt properly
- dysfunctionAbnormal or unhealthy operation
- copingManaging under strain
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
stress · burnout · overwhelm · avoidance · denial · regression · dissociation · withdrawal
Not operating properly
- counterproductiveHindering intended outcome
- self-defeatingCausing one's own failure
- ineffectiveLacking power to achieve
- harmfulCausing damage or injury
destructive · compulsive · addictive · avoidant · procrastination · substance abuse · overeating · undersleeping
Complete vanishing of a species
- vestigialReduced, without current function
- deleteriousCausing harm or damage
- unfitnessLack of suitability
- disadvantageousCausing harm or hindrance
misfit · natural selection · survival · fitness · trait · mutation · niche · selection pressure
alienation
State of being isolated
- maladjustmentFailure to adapt properly
- anomieBreakdown of shared standards
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
nonconformity · displacement · disaffection · isolation · marginalization · exclusion · outcast · deviance · disconnection · culture shock
maladjustment
Failure to adapt properly
- dysfunctionAbnormal or unhealthy operation
- copingManaging under strain
- traumaLasting psychological wound
anxiety · stress · burnout · overwhelm · avoidance · denial · regression · dissociation · withdrawal · rumination
dysfunctional
Not operating properly
- counterproductiveHindering intended outcome
- self-defeatingCausing one's own failure
- ineffectiveLacking power to achieve
harmful · destructive · compulsive · addictive · avoidant · procrastination · substance abuse · overeating · undersleeping · overworking
extinction
Complete vanishing of a species
- vestigialReduced, without current function
- deleteriousCausing harm or damage
- unfitnessLack of suitability
disadvantageous · misfit · natural selection · survival · fitness · trait · mutation · niche · selection pressure · phenotype
maladaptingadapting
Modifying to suit conditions
adjusting · thriving · coping · flourishing · acclimating
- maladaptive behaviorHarmful patterns undermining wellbeing