maladjusted

/ˌˈmæləˌdʒʌstəd/

Someone who's maladjusted has a hard time coping with life's challenges and difficulties. If you're maladjusted at school, you just can't seem to fit in with your fellow students or figure out what your teachers expect from you.

Maladjusted people can't deal with fairly ordinary stresses and trials, or they can't get along with other people. You might feel socially maladjusted if you move to a new country that's culturally very different from your home, for example. Sometimes this adjective is used to describe a system, like the economy, to emphasize how unstable it is: "This maladjusted economy is creating a society of haves and have-nots."

Definitions of maladjusted

1. adjective

   poorly adjusted to demands and stresses of daily living
   “a maladjusted child”

   synonyms:

   unadapted, unadjusted

   not having adapted to new conditions

   antonyms:

   adjusted

   adjusted to demands of daily living; showing emotional stability

   well-adjusted, well-balanced

   free from psychological disorder
2. adjective

   emotionally unstable and having difficulty coping with personal relationships
   synonyms: disturbed

   neurotic, psychoneurotic

   affected with emotional disorder
3. adjective

   not well adjusted
   “a maladjusted carburetor”

   synonyms:

   unadjusted

   not altered to fit certain requirements