SKIP TO CONTENT

adopted

/əˈdɑpɾɪd/
/əˈdɒptɪd/
IPA guide

Something that's adopted has been deliberately chosen. Your adopted country is the place where you choose to live, not necessarily the one in which you're born.

If you describe yourself as adopted, it means that you were taken in and raised by parents who didn't give birth to you. Just as your adoptive parents chose you to be their child, other adopted things are also chosen: an adopted language is one you learn and then choose to speak, and an adopted state is the place you freely decide to live in. The Latin root is adoptare, "choose for oneself."

Definitions of adopted
  1. adjective
    acquired as your own by free choice
    “my adopted state”
    synonyms: adoptive
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    native
    belonging to one by birth
    connatural, inborn, inbred
    normally existing at birth
Pronunciation
US
/əˈdɑpɾɪd/
UK
/əˈdɒptɪd/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘adopted'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family