maladjusted

M3A1L1A1D2J8U1S1T1E1D2

adjective

Adjusted badly or wrongly.

Opposite
UncommonScrabble 22

Meanings

maladjusted1

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of maladjust

maladjusted2

adjectivemaladjusted (comparative more maladjusted, superlative most maladjusted)

comparative more maladjusted · superlative most maladjusted

  1. Adjusted badly or wrongly.

    In practice, the most frequently encountered problems relate to maladjusted monitors, which affect the display of images, […]

    2019, R. Brad Abrahams, Walter Huda, William F Sensakovic, Imaging Physics Case Review E-Book, page 318
  2. Badly adjusted to the demands and stresses of daily living; unable to cope.
    2 more examples

    Throughout my career as a music journalist, I've often found myself sharing the same orbit as some of the more maladjusted talents of the late 20th century, but nothing could have prepared me for the time I spent with Serge Gainsbourg, the louche, turtle-eyed genius of la chanson Française, little more than two years before his death.

    2006 April 15, Nick Kent, “What a drag”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    Before he died, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), the hermit-like, socially maladjusted tech genius who created The Oasis, hid an Easter egg somewhere in the circuitry, scattering bread crumbs that lead to its location. Find the egg, and the mogul’s fortune—along with total control of his digital fiefdom—is yours. It’s the ultimate capitalist scavenger hunt!

    2018 March 26, A. A. Dowd, “Steven Spielberg Finds Fun, and maybe even a Soul, in the Pandering Pastiche of Ready Player One”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 31 May 2018

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivepoorly adjusted to demands and stresses of daily living

Opposite

adjectiveemotionally unstable and having difficulty coping with personal relationships

adjectivenot well adjusted

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

maladjusted · verb

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Full word history & related roots →

maladjusted · adjective

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)mel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)molos?
  3. Proto-Italic*malos
  4. Latinmalus
  5. Latinmale
  6. Old Frenchmal-
  7. Englishmal-
  8. Englishadjusted
  9. Englishmaladjusted

From mal- + adjusted.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неприспособен
  • неприспособен (neprisposoben)Badly adjusted, unable to cope
Spanish inadaptado
  • inadaptadoBadly adjusted, unable to cope
Cite this entry
APA

maladjusted. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjusted

MLA

“maladjusted.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjusted. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maladjusted,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjusted.

Source: maladjusted on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.