adaptive

Adaptive describes the ability of a system, organism, or process to adjust its behavior, structure, or parameters in response to changing conditions. It is used across disciplines to denote responsiveness that preserves function, performance, or viability in dynamic environments.

In biology, adaptive features enhance survival within a specific habitat. These can be morphological, physiological, or behavioral traits that increase fitness under prevailing ecological pressures. Adaptations result from selective processes over generations, though environments may render once-beneficial traits less useful or even detrimental when conditions change.

In technology and engineering, adaptive designs modify operation in real time. Examples include adaptive control, which updates controller gains as the system evolves; adaptive filters that alter coefficients to track signal characteristics; and adaptive algorithms that learn from data and adjust predictions or decisions as inputs shift. Real-world applications appear in communications, robotics, and multimedia delivery, among others.

In psychology and education, adaptation describes how people adjust to new tasks, social contexts, or stressors. Cognitive and behavioral plasticity underpins this form of adaptivity, enabling people to acquire new skills, cope with change, and maintain functioning despite novelty or disruption.

Adaptive capacity is a broader concept that encompasses flexibility, resilience, and learning across systems, from individual agents to organizations and ecosystems. Related terms include adaptability and adaptivity, with adaptation referring to the resulting state or process of becoming better suited to a new context.