maladaptive
adjective
mal·adap·tive ˌma-lə-ˈdap-tiv 
1
: marked by poor or inadequate adaptation
2
: not conducive to adaptation
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Much of excessive drinking and drug use is a maladaptive way of lowering stress in the short term. 
Brennan Barnard, Forbes, 4 July 2022 When justice is sought in the wake of a scam, skepticism is positioned as the norm, while gullibility is treated as a maladaptive, pathological, deviant form of socioeconomic being. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Psychologist Chloe Lau of Western University Canada explains that an extremely self-defeating style of humor can be maladaptive. Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 July 2022 Americans with Down syndrome have lower rates of cocaine use and ADHD, and some ADHD diagnoses might be more accurately classified as maladaptive daydreaming. Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Psychedelic therapy enabled me to see maladaptive patterns that had formed since childhood, and in combination with talk therapy, enabled me to change them. Louis Metzger Iv, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 This worked well for our evolutionary predecessors, but what was once adaptive is now often maladaptive. Tomas Chamorro-premuzic, Forbes, 14 Apr. 2022 The condition stems from a maladaptive inflammatory response to a systemic infection, which causes blood clots to form throughout the body, blood vessels in the skin to collapse, and tissue to die. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2022 Taking pleasure in negative emotions might seem morally suspect or maladaptive, a case of pointless narcissism. Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2022 See More
Brennan Barnard, Forbes, 4 July 2022 When justice is sought in the wake of a scam, skepticism is positioned as the norm, while gullibility is treated as a maladaptive, pathological, deviant form of socioeconomic being. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Psychologist Chloe Lau of Western University Canada explains that an extremely self-defeating style of humor can be maladaptive. Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 July 2022 Americans with Down syndrome have lower rates of cocaine use and ADHD, and some ADHD diagnoses might be more accurately classified as maladaptive daydreaming. Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Psychedelic therapy enabled me to see maladaptive patterns that had formed since childhood, and in combination with talk therapy, enabled me to change them. Louis Metzger Iv, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 This worked well for our evolutionary predecessors, but what was once adaptive is now often maladaptive. Tomas Chamorro-premuzic, Forbes, 14 Apr. 2022 The condition stems from a maladaptive inflammatory response to a systemic infection, which causes blood clots to form throughout the body, blood vessels in the skin to collapse, and tissue to die. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2022 Taking pleasure in negative emotions might seem morally suspect or maladaptive, a case of pointless narcissism. Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1931, in the meaning defined at sense 1