plas|tic

plas|tic
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.

5. Figurative. easily influenced; impressionable; pliable: »

the plastic mind of a child.

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.
9. Archaic. producing natural forms, especially living organisms; formative; procreative.
╂[< Latin plasticus < Greek plastikós able to be molded < plastós molded < plássein to form, mold]
–plas´ti|cal|ly, adverb.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • plas|tic|i|ty — «plas TIHS uh tee», noun. 1. plastic quality: »Figurative. Yet it is this graphic weakness that gives his Hesiod etchings their strong plasticity and complicated charm (New Yorker). 2. the capability of being molded, formed, or modeled. 3.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • plas·tic·i·ty — /plæˈstısəti/ noun [noncount] technical : the quality of being able to be made into different shapes the plasticity of clay …   Useful english dictionary

  • an´gi|o|plas´tic — an|gi|o|plas|ty «AN jee oh PLAS tee», noun. a surgical procedure for clearing a passage in an artery, especially by threading a small balloon through the artery and inflating it to clear blood clots and fatty deposits. ╂[< Greek angeîon… …   Useful english dictionary

  • ho|mo|plas|tic — «HOH muh PLAS tihk, HOM uh », adjective. Biology. similar but of different origin: »homoplastic organs. ╂[< homo + Greek plastós something molded + English ic] –ho´mo|plas´ti|cal|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • su|per|plas|tic — «SOO puhr PLAS tihk», adjective. 1. capable of plastic deformation under very small stress at high temperature: »Superplastic materials…are characterized by a very small grain size…and an immense capacity for plastic deformation at elevated… …   Useful english dictionary

  • throm|bo|plas|tic — «THROM boh PLAS tihk», adjective. promoting or having to do with the clotting of blood. ╂[< Greek thrómbos a clot + English plastic] –throm´bo|plas´ti|cal|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • a|chon|dro|plas|tic — «ay KON druh PLAS tihk», adjective, noun. –adj. 1. of or having to do with achondroplasia. 2. suffering from achondroplasia. –n. a person who has achondroplasia …   Useful english dictionary

  • al|lo|plas|tic — «AL uh PLAS tihk», adjective. 1. shaping or altering the environment: »alloplastic adaptation. 2. of or having to do with alloplasty …   Useful english dictionary

  • a|mi|no|plas|tic — «uh MEE nuh PLAS tihk, AM uh », adjective. of or having to do with an aminoplast or aminoplasts …   Useful english dictionary

  • an|a|plas|tic — «AN uh PLAS tihk», adjective. 1. having to do with or involving plastic surgery. 2. having reverted to a more embryonic form, with increased capacity for multiplication, as in malignant tissue. ╂[< Greek anaplássein restore < ana back +… …   Useful english dictionary

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