Basic Details
Word: Adaptation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A change that helps something fit a new situation. In science, it is a feature that helps a living thing survive where it lives. A film made from a book is also an adaptation.
Synonyms: adjustment, modification, version
How to Spell Adaptation
Syllables: ad - ap - ta - tion
Tricky part: Keep the whole of adapt, with a in the middle, and add ation. Students mix it up with adept or adopt.
Watch out for: adeptation, addaptation, adaptasion
Memory tip: Adapt + ation. Write the whole of adapt first, the way inform stays whole in information, then add ation.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Thick fur is an adaptation that keeps the snow leopard warm.
Example 2: Our class watched a cartoon adaptation of the Panchatantra stories.
Example 3: Moving to a new school needed some adaptation from all of us.
Fun Fact
A camel's long eyelashes and its nostrils, which it can close, are adaptations that keep desert sand out.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
adapt____
a) ation
b) ution
c) ition
d) etion
Show answer
a) ation. Adapt takes ation, the same ending as tempt in temptation.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) imagination
b) adeptation
c) population
d) translation
Show answer
b) adeptation. The word is built on adapt, with an a after the d, not adept.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
adaptation
a) damage
b) refusal
c) repetition
d) adjustment
Show answer
d) adjustment. An adaptation is a change made to fit in, which is an adjustment.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
potaatadni
a) deputation
b) adoption
c) dictation
d) adaptation
Show answer
d) adaptation. Deputation needs an e and a u, dictation a c; only adaptation uses three a's.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The new film is an adaptation of a famous novel. The film is ____.
a) based on the book
b) about the author's childhood
c) a copy of another film
d) a news report
Show answer
a) based on the book
2. A cactus storing water in its thick stem is an example of ____.
a) hibernation
b) migration
c) adaptation
d) pollution
Show answer
c) adaptation
