Fluid viscous dampers are well known for their adequate energy dissipation capacity and are used in many tall buildings subjected to earthquake and wind action. On the other hand, these devices suffer from generating constant damping, which makes them ineffective to the nature of varied excitations. This study proposed an adaptive fluid viscous damper (AFVD) with adaptive damping capacities to adjust its damping force according to the varied intensity of the action. This proposed damper works in three main stages to enhance the variable damping response to the dynamic range of excitation. The proposed damper generates a damping force depending on the velocity of the piston. The first stage is low damping for low velocity, which is typically caused by wind load or low-intensity earthquakes. The second stage is moderate damping for moderate velocity, which is usually caused by moderate earthquakes, and the last stage is for rare earthquakes, where the damper generates a high damping force to resist the extreme acceleration caused by the ground motion. Moreover, there is an adjustable mechanism to limit the damping force from reaching the design damping force of the damper to protect the device from damage. A 10-story steel frame is analyzed using time history response analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of AFVD. The result demonstrates that the AFVD significantly improves seismic performance by efficiently mitigating seismic response across a range of ground motions and wind excitation while minimizing over-damping during wind loads. This adaptive approach enhances structural resilience and occupant comfort.