overadapt

English

Etymology

over- +‎ adapt

Verb

overadapt (third-person singular simple present overadapts, present participle overadapting, simple past and past participle overadapted)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To adapt excessively.
   • 1996, Ralph Hanna, Pursuing History: Middle English Manuscripts and Their Texts, page 189:

     Apparently conscious of the need to achieve a good fit between Chaucer's text and extraneous materials, the scribe overadapted the poem to context by suppressing its generally springy first triplet, copying only those lines that refer to birdsong.

   • 2006, Gil and Dana Stieglitz, Becoming a Godly Wife, page 64:

     In some cases, there is the problem of wives choosing to overadapt or being asked to overadapt. Adapting that takes away individuality, personhood or self-worth is overadapting. Adapting that requires lockstep thinking is overadapting.