# plastic

Pronunciation: say "PLAS-tik" /ˈplæstɪk/

## Noun

1. A synthetic, solid material made from hydrocarbon-based polymers, able to be molded into lasting shapes.
   - Simple: A light, man-made material that can be molded into bottles, toys, and many other everyday things.
   - _The factory molds plastic into containers of every size._
   - _Unlike metal, plastic can be shaped easily when heated._
3. Credit and debit cards, thought of as a way of paying instead of cash. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Credit or debit cards used to pay for things instead of cash.
   - _The restaurant doesn't take plastic, only cash._
   - _Tourists rely on plastic when traveling abroad._
8. An instance of plastic surgery; a single cosmetic operation. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A single operation to reshape part of the body, such as a nose job or face-lift.
   - _The clinic offers a discount on your second plastic._
   - _Several celebrities admitted to having a plastic or two._
9. Insincerity or fakeness; also a fake, arrogant, or narcissistic person who believes they are better than everybody else. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Fakeness and insincerity, or a fake, vain person who thinks they are better than everyone else.
   - _The new manager was all plastic, full of empty charm._
   - _Those plastics in the front row only care about looking important._
16. A person regarded as inauthentically Irish, claiming or performing Irishness despite a distant or tenuous connection to Ireland. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A name for someone who acts Irish but is not seen as truly Irish.
   - _The regulars wrote him off as a plastic the moment he butchered the Gaelic toast._
   - _She bristled at being branded a plastic, though her grandparents had left Cork decades earlier._

## Adjective

2. Constructed or formed from plastic rather than another material.
   - Simple: Made from plastic rather than wood, metal, or glass.
   - _The museum displayed plastic replicas of the fragile artifacts._
   - _He prefers plastic plates for outdoor parties because they don't break._
4. Capable of being molded or shaped; soft, flexible, and easily bent without breaking.
   - Simple: Able to be bent or shaped easily without breaking.
   - _Heated glass becomes plastic enough to blow into delicate shapes._
   - _The sculptor preferred a plastic material that held every fingerprint._
5. Fake and insincere, especially in a shallow, conformist way that puts on a smooth, glossy show of flawlessness. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Fake and insincere, in a shallow way that copies others to seem smooth and perfect.
   - _The talk show host gave a plastic grin to every guest._
   - _He found the influencer's plastic enthusiasm exhausting._
6. Inferior or fake; not the genuine article.
   - Simple: Cheap and fake, not the real or good thing.
   - _The remake felt plastic next to the gritty original._
   - _Reviewers called the resort a plastic version of a real fishing village._
7. Relating to the permanent, non-brittle deformation of a material: the kind that does not spring back or shatter.
   - Simple: Describing how a solid bends into a new shape for good, instead of springing back or cracking.
   - _Beyond the elastic limit, the beam entered a plastic regime and held its bent shape._
   - _Engineers test how much load triggers plastic deformation in the steel frame._
10. Capable of changing to suit varying conditions; marked by adaptability to one's environment.
   - Simple: Able to change in order to fit different surroundings or conditions.
   - _Many species are remarkably plastic, adjusting their behavior when moved to new habitats._
   - _The developing nervous system remains highly plastic during early childhood._
14. Of a bird, having escaped from captivity rather than occurring naturally in the wild. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Describing a bird that escaped from a cage, not a truly wild one.
   - _The records committee rejected the sighting, judging the duck to be plastic._
   - _Experienced observers suspected the parakeet was plastic rather than a genuine vagrant._
15. Of a bird, present because it was introduced by people rather than being native or a natural vagrant. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Describing a bird brought into an area by people, not naturally found there.
   - _The committee classed the parakeet flocks as plastic, descended from introduced stock._
   - _Many urban populations are plastic, established from deliberate or accidental human introductions._

## Adjective

11. Creative; possessing the power to form or shape things into being. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Having the power to create or shape something new.
   - _The poets praised the plastic energy of the natural world._
   - _He spoke of the mind's plastic power to fashion new ideas from raw sensation._
13. Producing or forming new tissue, as in the material that gathers during the healing of a wound. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Helping the body to grow or make new tissue.
   - _The physician described the plastic exudate that sealed the injury._
   - _A plastic lymph collected over the wound as it began to heal._

## Noun

12. Any solid yet malleable substance that can be molded and holds the shape given to it. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A solid material that is soft enough to be pressed into a shape.
   - _The craftsman pressed the heated plastic into an ornate mold._
   - _Softened over the flame, the resin became a plastic that retained its new form._
17. An artist who shapes or models figures from clay, wax, stone, or similar material; a sculptor. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who shapes clay, wax, or stone into works of art.
   - _The cathedral commissioned a renowned plastic to model its statues._
   - _As a plastic, she worked the clay into lifelike busts of the nobility._

## Origin

From Latin plasticus ("of molding"), from Ancient Greek plastikós, from plássō ("to mold, form"). It is a doublet of plastique.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/plastic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).