adapt
Definitions
To adjust to new conditions or a new environment
适应；使适应
To modify or rework something for a new purpose, especially a book or play for film or TV
改编；改造
Root Breakdown
Native Englishad- (toward) + apt (fit) = "fit toward" something new. To adapt is to reshape — yourself or a thing — so it matches changed conditions. The same image covers both "adapt to a climate" (change yourself to fit it) and "adapt a novel for film" (refit the work for a new medium).
Root apt still carries 19 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.adapt to适应
- 2.adapt from改编自
- 3.adapt to changes适应变化
- 4.quickly adapt快速适应
Example Sentences
- 1.
It took me a few months to adapt to life in a new country.
- 2.
Animals that cannot adapt to a changing climate will not survive.
- 3.
The director adapted the best-selling novel into a three-hour film.
Easily Confused
adapt vs adopt — These look almost identical but are unrelated. adapt (ad + apt, "make fit") means adjust or modify: adapt to a new job. adopt (ad + opt, "choose toward") means take up or take in: adopt a child, adopt a policy. If you're changing something to fit, it's adapt; if you're choosing to take it on, it's adopt.