maladjustment

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noun

A poor or faulty adjustment, especially of a mechanism.

OriginEnglish adjustment ← French ajustement ← Old French mal- →
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Meanings

nounmaladjustment (countable and uncountable, plural maladjustments)

plural maladjustments

  1. countableuncountableA poor or faulty adjustment, especially of a mechanism.
  2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe inability to adapt oneself to the needs of others, or to the stresses of normal life.

Origin

  1. Latinmale
  2. Old Frenchmal-
  3. Englishmal-
  4. Frenchajustement
  5. Englishadjustment
  6. Englishmaladjustment

From mal- + adjustment.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

maladjustment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjustment

MLA

“maladjustment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjustment. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maladjustment,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maladjustment.

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