ADJUSTMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does adjustment mean? 

• ADJUSTMENT (noun)
  The noun ADJUSTMENT has 5 senses:

1. making or becoming suitable; adjusting to circumstances

2. the act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment)

3. the act of adjusting something to match a standard

4. the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions)

5. an amount added or deducted on the basis of qualifying circumstances

  Familiarity information: ADJUSTMENT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ADJUSTMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Making or becoming suitable; adjusting to circumstances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

accommodation; adjustment; fitting

Hypernyms ("adjustment" is a kind of...):

advance; betterment; improvement (a change for the better; progress in development)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "adjustment"):

domestication (accommodation to domestic life)

shakedown (initial adjustments to improve the functioning or the efficiency and to bring to a more satisfactory state)

habituation (a general accommodation to unchanging environmental conditions)

readjustment (the act of adjusting again (to changed circumstances))

Derivation:

adjust (adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

adjustment; alteration; modification

Hypernyms ("adjustment" is a kind of...):

change (the action of changing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "adjustment"):

tightening (the act of making something tighter)

accommodation ((physiology) the automatic adjustment in focal length of the natural lens of the eye)

adaptation ((physiology) the responsive adjustment of a sense organ (as the eye) to varying conditions (as of light))

tune (the adjustment of a radio receiver or other circuit to a required frequency)

laxation; loosening (the act of making something less tight)

Derivation:

adjust (make correspondent or conformable)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of adjusting something to match a standard

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

adjustment; readjustment; registration

Hypernyms ("adjustment" is a kind of...):

calibration; standardisation; standardization (the act of checking or adjusting (by comparison with a standard) the accuracy of a measuring instrument)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "adjustment"):

alignment (the act of adjusting or aligning the parts of a device in relation to each other)

collimation (the accurate adjustment of the line of sight of a telescope)

temperament (an adjustment of the intervals (as in tuning a keyboard instrument) so that the scale can be used to play in different keys)

tune-up (adjustments made to an engine to improve its performance)

synchronisation; synchronising; synchronization; synchronizing (an adjustment that causes something to occur or recur in unison)

voicing (the act of adjusting an organ pipe (or wind instrument) so that it conforms to the standards of tone and pitch and color)

Derivation:

adjust (alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

adaptation; adaption; adjustment

Hypernyms ("adjustment" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "adjustment"):

acclimation; acclimatisation; acclimatization (adaptation to a new climate (a new temperature or altitude or environment))

dedifferentiation (the loss of specialization in form or function)

domestication (adaptation to intimate association with human beings)

differentiation; specialisation; specialization ((biology) the structural adaptation of some body part for a particular function)

Derivation:

adjust (adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An amount added or deducted on the basis of qualifying circumstances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

adjustment; allowance

Context example:

an allowance for profit

Hypernyms ("adjustment" is a kind of...):

recompense (payment or reward (as for service rendered))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "adjustment"):

cost-of-living allowance (an allowance for changes in the consumer price index)

depreciation allowance (an allowance for loss due to depreciation)

deduction; discount (an amount or percentage deducted)

seasonal adjustment (a statistical adjustment made to accommodate predictable fluctuations as a function of the season of the year)

tare (an adjustment made for the weight of the packaging in order to determine the net weight of the goods)

Derivation:

adjust (decide how much is to be paid on an insurance claim)

 Context examples 

The device still needs to undergo a long process of adjustment and refinement.

(Transistor that mimics neurons developed, SciDev.Net)

After that adjustment, the connection between supplements and longevity disappeared.

(Healthy Diet Can't Be Replaced by Vitamins, Supplements, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

They found that temperature likely plays a role in how migrating birds make adjustments in their timing and their routes.

(Seasonality of bird migration responds to environmental cues, NSF)

These associations held after adjustment for several other variables, including smoking habits, exposure to cats, dogs, mold, and mildew.

(Cleaner Air Tied to Healthier Lungs in Kids, NIH)

A seasonal time adjustment in which clocks are set one hour ahead of local standard time.

(Daylight-Savings Time, NCI Thesaurus)

The decrease, sometimes referred to as "browning," suggests a slow adjustment to the long-term drying trend.

(NASA finds drought may take toll on Congo rainforest, NASA)

The scope of advanced diabetes practice includes management skills such as medication adjustment, medical nutrition therapy, exercise planning, counseling for behavior management and psychosocial issues.

(Diabetes Management Nurse Specialist, NCI Thesaurus)

A multiple comparison adjustment method where the p-values are ranked in descending order.

(Adjusted Bonferroni Correction, NCI Thesaurus)

Adjustment for the effect of tissue thicknesses through which gamma's travel from an activity concentration origin to the scanner's detectors.

(Attenuation Correction, NCI Thesaurus)

A dosing unit based on an adjustment in the pH.

(Adjust pH Dosing Unit, NCI Thesaurus)