different between plastic vs plasticize

English

Alternative forms

• plastick (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek ????????? (plastikós), from ???????? (plássein, “to mold, form”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?plæst?k/, /?pl??st?k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?plæst?k/, [?p?læst?k]
• Rhymes: -æst?k
• Hyphenation: plas?tic

Noun

plastic (countable and uncountable, plural plastics)

1. A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.
2. (colloquial, metonymically) Credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.
3. (figuratively, slang) insincerity; fakeness, or a person who is fake or arrogant, or believes that they are better than the rest of the population.
4. (slang, countable) An instance of plastic surgery.
   • 1951, Arnold Hano, The Big Out (page 146)

     Somebody's had a plastic done on his nose, I think, or else somebody bent it out of shape since I last saw it.

5. (obsolete) A sculptor, moulder.
6. (archaic) Any solid but malleable substance.

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ?????? (purasuchikku)
• ? Korean: ???? (peullaseutik)

Translations

Adjective

plastic (comparative more plastic, superlative most plastic)

1. Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant. [from 17th c.]

   Synonyms: malleable, flexible, pliant; see also Thesaurus:moldable

   Antonym: elastic

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, page 103:

     the rage […] betook itself at last to certain missile weapons; which, though from their plastic nature they threatened neither the loss of life or of limb, were, however, sufficiently dreadful to a well-dressed lady.

   • 1898, Journal of Microscopy (page 256)

     Plastic mud, brownish tinted, rich in floatings.

   • 2012, Adam Zeman, ‘Only Connect’, Literary Review, issue 399:

     while the broad pattern of connections between brain regions is similar in every healthy human brain, their details – their number, size and strength – are thought to underpin our individuality, as synapses are ‘plastic’, shaped by experience.

2. (medicine, now rare) Producing tissue. [from 17th c.]
3. (dated) Creative, formative. [from 17th c.]
   • 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon on the Vanity of the World

     Benign Creator! let thy plastic hand dispose its own effect
4. (biology) Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability. [from 19th c.]
5. Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material. [from 19th c.]
6. Made of plastic. [from 20th c.]
7. Inferior or not the real thing. [from 20th c.]

   Synonym: ersatz
8. (figuratively, informal, of a person) fake; insincere.

   Synonyms: fake, insincere

   Antonyms: genuine, sincere

Derived terms

• plastic beauty
• plastic explosive
• plastician
• plasticity
• plasticizer
• plasticine
• plastic surgery
• plastic rush
• thermoplastic

Translations

Anagrams

• placits

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English plastic.

Noun

plastic

1. (sometimes proscribed) plastic

Usage notes

Discouraged in engineering circles in favour of plast.

Declension

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English plastic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pl?s.t?k/
• Hyphenation: plas?tic

Noun

plastic n (uncountable)

1. (Netherlands, uncountable) plastic (synthetic polymer substance)

   Synonym: plastiek

Noun

plastic m (plural plastics)

1. (Netherlands, countable, chemistry) plastic (specific type of synthetic polymer)

   Synonym: plastiek

Adjective

plastic (not comparable)

1. (Netherlands) plastic

   Synonym: plastieken

Inflection

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English plastic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plas.tik/

Noun

plastic m (plural plastics)

1. plastic explosive

Derived terms

• plasticage
• plastiquer

Further reading

• “plastic” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Romanian

Etymology

From French plastique.

Adjective

plastic m or n (feminine singular plastic?, masculine plural plastici, feminine and neuter plural plastice)

1. plastic

Declension

Related terms

• plasticitate

English

Alternative forms

• plasticise

Etymology

plastic +? -ize

Verb

plasticize (third-person singular simple present plasticizes, present participle plasticizing, simple past and past participle plasticized)

1. (transitive) To make something more plastic, especially by adding a plasticizer
2. (intransitive) To become more plastic
3. (transitive) To capitalize on something with ignorance to its significance or true value; to exploit something for monetary gain

Translations