- plas´ti|cal|ly
- plas|tic «PLAS tihk», noun, adjective.–n.1. any one of various substances that can be molded or shaped when softened, as by heat or pressure, and become hard when cooled. Glass and rubber are plastics.2. a synthetic organic compound made from coal, water, limestone, or other similar basic raw materials, especially by polymerization. Plastics are molded, laminated, and extruded into various forms, such as sheets, fibers, and bottles. Nylon, vinyl, Bakelite, polyethylene, and Lucite are plastics.3. = plastic explosive. (Cf. ↑plastic explosive)4. Informal. a credit or debit card: »
People can use plastic to pay for everything from gasoline to income taxes.
–adj.1. made of plastic: »a plastic hose, a plastic bottle, a plastic dish.
2. easily modeled or shaped: »Clay, wax, and plaster are plastic substances.
3. molding or giving shape to material.4. having to do with or involving molding or modeling; that expresses itself in three dimensions: »Sculpture is a plastic art.
6. Figurative. not natural or real; synthetic; artificial: »Now that so many of the young seem to wear their hearts on their sleeves, it is hard to tell which ones are real and which on are plastic (Harper's).
7. Biology. capable of forming, or being organized into, living tissue.8. Physics. (of a substance) able to be deformed in any direction and to retain its deformed condition permanently without rupture.╂[< Latin plasticus < Greek plastikós able to be molded < plastós molded < plássein to form, mold]–plas´ti|cal|ly, adverb.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
