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plastic

[plas-tik]
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noun
  1. Often plastics. any of a group of synthetic or natural organic materials that may be shaped when soft and then hardened, including many types of resins, resinoids, polymers, cellulose derivatives, casein materials, and proteins: used in place of other materials, as glass, wood, and metals, in construction and decoration, for making many articles, as coatings, and, drawn into filaments, for weaving. They are often known by trademark names, as Bakelite, Vinylite, or Lucite.
  2. a credit card, or credit cards collectively, usually made of plastic: He had a whole pocketful of plastic.
  3. money, payment, or credit represented by the use of a credit card or cards.
  4. something, or a group of things, made of or resembling plastic: The entire meal was served on plastic.
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adjective
  1. made of plastic.
  2. capable of being molded or of receiving form: clay and other plastic substances.
  3. produced by molding: plastic figures.
  4. having the power of molding or shaping formless or yielding material: the plastic forces of nature.
  5. being able to create, especially within an art form; having the power to give form or formal expression: the plastic imagination of great poets and composers.
  6. Fine Arts.
    1. concerned with or pertaining to molding or modeling; sculptural.
    2. relating to three-dimensional form or space, especially on a two-dimensional surface.
    3. pertaining to the tools or techniques of drawing, painting, or sculpture: the plastic means.
    4. characterized by an emphasis on formal structure: plastic requirements of a picture.
  7. pliable; impressionable: the plastic mind of youth.
  8. giving the impression of being made of or furnished with plastic: We stayed at one of those plastic motels.
  9. artificial or insincere; synthetic; phony: jeans made of cotton, not some plastic substitute; a plastic smile.
  10. lacking in depth, individuality, or permanence; superficial, dehumanized, or mass-produced: a plastic society interested only in material acquisition.
  11. of or relating to the use of credit cards: plastic credit; plastic money.
  12. Biology, Pathology. formative.
  13. Surgery. concerned with or pertaining to the remedying or restoring of malformed, injured, or lost parts: a plastic operation.
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Origin of plastic

1625–35; 1900–10 for def 1; < Latin plasticus that may be molded < Greek plastikós. See -plast, -ic
Related formsplas·ti·cal·ly, plas·tic·ly, adverbnon·plas·tic, adjective, nounun·plas·tic, adjective

Synonyms

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11. pliant, flexible, amenable.

-plastic

  1. a combining form occurring in chloroplastic; protoplastic.
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Origin of -plastic

see origin at plastic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

elasticmoldedsyntheticbendinggivingyieldingersatzpseudophonychemicalcastsubstituteductilepliablepliantresilientsuppleworkablemoldablefictile

Examples from the Web for plastic

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It had been well rubbed in, too, made of a plastic adherence by the addition of mucilage.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The plastic fingers were at work about her, moulding her into what she must be as a woman.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • The same fluency may be observed in every work of the plastic arts.

    Essays, First Series

    Ralph Waldo Emerson

  • Men in plastic sag-suits roved about as individuals, seeking what they might loot.

    Pariah Planet

    Murray Leinster

  • Already there are holes in my plastic clothing where the beer splashes.

British Dictionary definitions for plastic

plastic

noun
  1. any one of a large number of synthetic usually organic materials that have a polymeric structure and can be moulded when soft and then set, esp such a material in a finished state containing plasticizer, stabilizer, filler, pigments, etc. Plastics are classified as thermosetting (such as Bakelite) or thermoplastic (such as PVC) and are used in the manufacture of many articles and in coatings, artificial fibres, etcCompare resin (def. 2)
  2. short for plastic money
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adjective
  1. made of plastic
  2. easily influenced; impressionablethe plastic minds of children
  3. capable of being moulded or formed
  4. fine arts
    1. of or relating to moulding or modellingthe plastic arts
    2. produced or apparently produced by mouldingthe plastic draperies of Giotto's figures
  5. having the power to form or influencethe plastic forces of the imagination
  6. biology of or relating to any formative process; able to change, develop, or growplastic tissues
  7. of or relating to plastic surgery
  8. slang superficially attractive yet unoriginal or artificialplastic food
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Derived Formsplastically, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from Latin plasticus relating to moulding, from Greek plastikos, from plassein to form

-plastic

adj combining form
  1. growing or formingneoplastic
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Word Origin

from Greek plastikos; see plastic
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for plastic

adj.

1630s, "capable of shaping or molding," from Latin plasticus, from Greek plastikos "able to be molded, pertaining to molding, fit for molding," also in reference to the arts, from plastos "molded, formed," verbal adjective from plassein "to mold" (see plasma). Surgical sense of "remedying a deficiency of structure" is first recorded 1839 (in plastic surgery). Meaning "made of plastic" is from 1909. Picked up in counterculture slang with meaning "false, superficial" (1963). Plastic explosive (n.) attested from 1894.

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n.

1905, "solid substance that can be molded," originally of dental molds, from plastic (adj.). Main current meaning, "synthetic product made from oil derivatives," first recorded 1909, coined by Leo Baekeland (see bakelite).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
plastic in Medicine

plastic

(plăs′tĭk)
adj.
  1. Capable of being shaped or formed.
  2. Easily influenced; impressionable.
  3. Capable of building tissue; formative.
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n.
  1. Any of various organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being molded, extruded, cast into various shapes and films, or drawn into filaments used as textile fibers.
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Related formsplas•tic′i•ty (plăs-tĭs′ĭ-tē) n.

-plastic

suff.
  1. Forming; growing; changing; developing:neoplastic.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
plastic in Science

plastic

[plăs′tĭk]
Noun
  1. Any of numerous substances that can be shaped and molded when subjected to heat or pressure. Plastics are easily shaped because they consist of long-chain molecules known as polymers, which do not break apart when flexed. Plastics are usually artificial resins but can also be natural substances, as in certain cellular derivatives and shellac. Plastics can be pressed into thin layers, formed into objects, or drawn into fibers for use in textiles. Most do not conduct electricity well, are low in density, and are often very tough. Polyvinyl chloride, methyl methacrylate, and polystyrene are plastics. See more at thermoplastic thermosetting.
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Adjective
  1. Capable of being molded or formed into a shape.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.