Adaptation is a key feature of sustainable social-ecological systems, as well as a recent and increasing focus of research and policy regarding responses to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. This article examines the meaning of adaptation and its relationship to the concepts of resilience, vulnerability and sustainability. It illustrates that, in many cases, societies ‘manipulate’ their social-ecological contexts rather than adapt to them. Adaptive behaviours are respectful of the intrinsic integrity of social-ecological systems, and change is directed toward internal or self-regulating modification. In contrast, manipulation strategies are characterised by an implicit intention to achieve desired outcomes by means of controlling certain external system elements. This differentiates ‘manipulation’ from ‘maladaptation’ by virtue of the latter being the unforeseen consequences of intended adaptation measures. Following a brief history of adaptation and its relationship to vulnerability, resilience and sustainability, the paper examine three main types of adaptation available to communities in coastal zones in order to reveal contrasting perceptions of natural system states, differences in who or what adapts and the implications for system resilience. ‘Manipulation’ is proposed as an additional theoretical lens for analysing the range of contemporary adaptation responses more accurately. The article presents the case study of Noosa Main Beach (Queensland, Australia) to offer an insight into the mechanisms underpinning transition between adaptation options. The authors see their work as a starting point for further investigation. They draw on the integration of adaptation discourses and earlier analyses to discuss the intentions underlying adaptation, the focus of adaptation strategies and the implications of adaptation at the system level. With an approach informed by systems thinking, the authors find that the act of manipulation fails to address complex, inter-related dynamics, and may lead to reduced opportunities for genuine learning experiences, the creation of adverse path dependencies and reduced long-term adaptive capacity.