Word Confusion: Adaptive vs Adopted vs Adoptive

Posted March 22, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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Sure, adaptive vs adopted vs adoptive sound similar — and the latter two are definitely related, yet they each mean something different. Ahem.

Adaptive is an adjective making something fit or changing to suit the situation.

Adopted is primarily a verb that is more more commonly applied to a child or pet who has been legally taken into one’s home.

Adoptive, another adjective, is all about adopting a person or place and most commonly used for parents.

You may also want to explore the word confusion post “Adapt versus Adopt“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Adaptive	Adopted	Adoptive
The 2019 Army Trials is an Adaptive Sport, Fort Bliss, Texas, by Spc. Elijah Flores is in the public domain, via NARA.GetArchive.net and courtesy of Dividshub.net.	We Did Not Adopt a Child . . . by Dylan Walters is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. — She was adopted by friends, instead.	Adoptive Mother and Son Hug in Ramsey County, Minnesota, is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr. — Zavier gives a long hug to his adoptive mother, Kayla.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective	Morpheme: adopt Adjective; Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: adopts Past tense or past participle: adopted Present participle: adopting	Adjective
[Mainly technical] Characterized by or given to modification Make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose	Adjective: A nonbiological child having been taken into one’s home and raised as one’s own Verb, intransitive: To take a nonbiological child into one’s home and raise as one’s own To acquire a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization Verb, transitive: Legally take (another’s child) and bring it up as one’s own Choose to take up, follow, or use Take one’s own by selection or assent Choose and move to (a country or city) as one’s permanent place of residence Take on or assume (an attitude or position) [British] Choose (someone) as a candidate for office Formally approve or accept (a report or suggestion) To acquire (a pet, especially one from an animal rescue organization) To take or receive into any kind of new relationship To adopt a person as a protégé To select as a basic or required textbook or series of textbooks in a course To vote to accept To accept or act in accordance with (a plan, principle, etc.)	[Attrib.] As a result of the adoption of another’s child Denoting a country or city to which a person has moved and in which they have chosen to make their permanent place of residence
Examples:
Mutation is ultimately essential for adaptive evolution in all populations. You can even make the case that it is an evolutionary adaptive behavior. The adaptive skills are those daily living skills needed to live, work, and play in the community. It also features adaptive headlights that swivel with the direction of travel to illuminate the road ahead.	Adjective: She may be an adopted child, but she is family. Part of our family. An adopted child has legally become part of a family that is not the one in which they were born. Margie is their adopted daughter. Verb, intransitive: We adopted Jaynie. Max was adopted by a wonderful family. “Adopt! Don’t shop!” is the popular slogan promoted by one nonprofit animal advocacy group. Verb, transitive: There are many people eager to adopt a baby. This approach has been adopted by many big banks. She adopted a quirky nickname. More and more small businesses have adopted this technology. They adopted New Zealand as their new home. He adopted a patronizing tone. She was recently adopted as Labour candidate for the constituency. The committee voted 5–1 to adopt the proposal. After more than 300 days in foster care, the twins were adopted by a family that was able to keep the siblings together. The shelter provided basic medical care and vaccinations to the animals they adopted out. Local animal rescue groups use social media to persuade people to adopt dogs and cats from them instead of purchasing puppies and kittens from pet shops or breeders. She adopted Bernadette as a protégé. The instructor adopted an open textbook from the Oxford collection. The House adopted the report. They adopted a new pre-approved retirement plan.	He is the adoptive father of his wife’s three children. We spent most of the session talking about her relationship with her adoptive father, Eric. Obviously it is easier on the child and adoptive parents if the child is adopted at an early age. His adoptive home town of Rochdale is rather depressing. His final resting place was his beloved adoptive country — Singapore. To the emigrant Irish and to their adoptive countries, the shamrock logo represented all that was best in Irishness.
Derivatives:
Adjective: adaptable, adaptionist, adaptogenic, nonadapting Adverb: adaptably, adaptively Noun: adaptability, adaptation, adaptedness, adaptivity, adaption, adaptationism, adapter, adaption, adaptionist, adaptivity, adaptogen, adaptor Verb: misadapt Verb, transitive: readapt	Adjective: adoptable Noun: adoptee, adopter, adopting, nonadopter Verb, transitive: preadopt, quasi-adopt	Adverb: adoptively
History of the Word:
It was first recorded in 1815–25, as adapt + -ive.	Late 15th century, via the French from the Latin adoptare, from ad- (to) + optare (choose).	Late Middle English via the Old French from the Latin adoptivus, from adoptare meaning select for oneself.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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