What does adjusted mean?
Adjusted is the past tense and past participle of the verb adjust, meaning to change something slightly in order to make it more suitable, accurate, or comfortable. It can describe physical alterations, as when someone adjusts a seatbelt or a thermostat, or broader adaptation, as when a person adjusts to a new job or culture. As an adjective, adjusted frequently appears in financial and statistical language: inflation-adjusted wages, seasonally adjusted employment figures, and risk-adjusted investment returns all refer to numbers that have been corrected so they can be compared fairly across time or circumstances. The word carries a neutral, practical tone, implying careful fine-tuning rather than radical transformation. Its versatility makes it indispensable in everyday speech, technical reporting, and psychology alike, where being 'well-adjusted' suggests healthy adaptation to one's environment.
Past tense and past participle of adjust: changed something slightly to make it more suitable, accurate, or comfortable.
"The mechanic adjusted the engine's timing until it ran smoothly."
Modified or corrected, especially to account for external factors; or psychologically well-adapted to one's circumstances.
"Inflation-adjusted earnings have barely risen in a decade."
Every tax season, millions of Americans calculate their 'adjusted gross income' — a phrase whose Latin root simply meant 'sitting close to.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adjusted
Adjusted derives from the verb adjust, which entered English in the early 17th century from French ajuster, ultimately rooted in the Late Latin adiuxtare, formed from ad- ('to') and iuxta ('near' or 'close beside'). The underlying image is of bringing things into close alignment with one another. This same Latin root iuxta gives English other words such as juxtapose ('place side by side') and, through Old French, joust and jostle.
Related word forms
How adjusted is actually used
As an adjective, 'adjusted' often appears in technical and financial contexts (e.g., 'inflation-adjusted', 'seasonally adjusted'), where it signals that raw figures have been corrected for comparability. When describing people ('well-adjusted'), it carries a mildly psychological register and is common in formal writing about development and mental health.
Easily confused with adjusted
Adjudged means officially declared or judged by a court or authority, while adjusted means altered slightly to fit or improve something.