Adaptiveness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The ability to change one's actions or mindset in response to new challenges
2. The trait of being capable of adjusting effectively to varying situations in order to thrive demonstrates flexibility in behavior and thought processes
3. The quality of being able to modify behavior or thought patterns when faced with different circumstances

Etymology: "Adaptiveness" is a plain English formation: the adjective "adaptive" with the suffix "-ness" attached, turning a quality into a noun for that quality. The adjective itself is built from "adapt" plus the suffix "-ive," which comes through Old French "-if" from Latin "-īvus," a suffix that forms adjectives meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of" the action in the base word. The base verb goes back to Latin "adaptāre," a compound of "ad," meaning "to" or "toward," and "aptāre," meaning "to fit" or "to make suitable." That second verb descends from "aptus," "fitted" or "suitable," which is also the source of English "apt." So "adaptiveness" carries the sense of fitting oneself to something, the root idea behind "apt" and "adapt" alike. English took "adapt" from Medieval Latin in the late Middle Ages, and the "-ness" suffix, Old English in origin, was added to "adaptive" later in the history of the adjective.

Synonyms: flexibility, adjustability, versatility, acclimatization, resilience

Antonyms: inflexibility, rigidity, stagnation