plasticity
plasticity Lexical Profile
plasticity Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The capacity of an organism, tissue, or neural system to adapt, reorganize, or change its structure and function in response to environmental conditions, learning, or injury.
"Studies show that bilingualism and musical training enhance the synaptic plasticity of the human brain."
The quality of being easily shaped, molded, or permanently deformed without breaking or cracking.
"Adding water to the dry clay increases its plasticity, allowing the potter to shape it on the wheel."
Three-dimensional quality, sculptural fullness, or the illusion of depth and relief in visual art and aesthetics.
"The painter used dramatic chiaroscuro to give the figures a remarkable sense of sculptural plasticity."
Word Nuance & Usage
In physics and materials science, plasticity contrasts with elasticity: elasticity is the ability of a material to return to its original shape after a force is removed, whereas plasticity is the ability to retain a permanent deformation without fracturing.
• Rhymes for plasticity
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 18th century from 'plastic' plus the suffix '-ity', ultimately tracing back to the Ancient Greek 'plastikos' (fit for molding), from 'plassein' (to mold or form).