plastic
adjEtymology From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός (plastikós), from πλάσσω (plássō, “to mold, form”). Doublet of plastique.
10 senses
- 1Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.
- 2Producing tissue.
- 3Creative, formative.
- 4Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized…
- 5Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle…
- 6Made of plastic.
- 7Inferior or not the real thing.
- 8Fake, insincere, especially in a shallow and conformist…
- 9Escaped from captivity, rather than wild.
- 10Introduced, rather than native or naturally vagrant.
1
Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.
- 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.', Folio Society 1973, page 103
- [A]nd it is highly probable that along with more splendid habits of life entered a more lavish use of the gorgeous stores laid open to the plastic powers of fiction.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth:
4 more examples
- Plastic mud, brownish tinted, rich in floatings.1898, Journal of Microscopy, page 256:
- Man tracks and dog tracks, they left a clear imprint on its plastic surface, and came out on an open beach, stretching a mile away to another headland.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 60:
- While a historical woman obviously dwells at the root of this whole phenomenon, her image has been plastic, allowing the Christian imagination to create widely different Marian symbols and theologies in relation to spiritual and social needs.2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America, volume 182, number 21:
- 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.2012, Adam Zeman, ‘Only Connect’, Literary Review, number 399:
3
Dated Creative, formative.
- Benign Creator! let thy plastic hand dispose its own effect1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- See plastic Nature working to this end.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
4
Biology, Natural sciences Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability.
5
Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material.
6
Made of plastic.
- A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- A green plastic watering can / For a fake Chinese rubber plant / In a fake plastic earth / That she bought from a rubber man / In a town full of rubber plans / To get rid of itself1995, Radiohead, “Fake Plastic Trees”, in The Bends:
7
Derogatory, Figuratively Inferior or not the real thing.
- The Hippie has been replaced by the pseudo-Hippie, the plastic Hippie, the weekend Hippie1969, Lowell D. Streiker, The gospel of irreligious religion, page 83:
- People always try to say that we're garage rock, but that scene is so plastic. Some dude in a band has tight jeans, dyed black hair, and a starving girlfriend with bangs, and people call it indie rock. It's so gross.2007, Daniel Sinker, We owe you nothing: Punk Planet: the collected interviews, page 238:
1 more example
- Frustrated by a globalized music industry force-feeding them plastic pop music, hackers, remixers, and activists began to mobilize...2008, Matt James Mason, The pirate's dilemma: how youth culture is reinventing capitalism:
8
Figuratively, Informal, Of a person Fake, insincere, especially in a shallow and conformist way pretending to smoothness and glossy flawlessness.
- He kissed the white woman once, and it was so artificial, so plastic (that's the word, plastic) that one wondered why did they bother at all.1966, Calvin C. Hernton, White papers for white Americans, page 67:
- Then go home and check yourself / You think we're singing 'bout someone else… / But you're plastic people / You gotta go1967, “Plastic People”, in Frank Zappa (music), Absolutely Free, performed by The Mothers of Invention:
4 more examples
- Plastic people with plastic minds / Are on their way to plastic homes1971, Gil Scott-Heron, “Lady Day and John Coltrane”, in Pieces of a Man:
- In fact it seems as though there are two kinds of people in the world: real people and plastic people, as the Flower Children used to say.1973, Eric Berne, What do you say after you say hello?, page 120:
- But I don't think she would be happy in Los Angeles — it's so plastic and cheap and they expect the women to be whores to get anywhere.2006, Catherine Coulter, Born to Be Wild, page 71:
- We're plastic but we'll still have fun!2009, Lady Gaga, Paparazzi:
9
Biology, Birdwatching, Natural sciences, Ornithology Informal, Of an individual bird Escaped from captivity, rather than wild.
- A superb — and apparently wild, not plastic — Baikal Teal was located at RSPB Greylake in Somerset[.]2024 January 14, Ian Reid, “South Aussie birding on the other side of the world”, in The Feathered Variety (blog), archived from the original on 14 Jan 2024:
10
Biology, Birdwatching, Natural sciences, Ornithology Informal Introduced, rather than native or naturally vagrant.
Of a species or individual bird
- I was checking into my motel while a Red-whiskered Bulbul called outside – a Queensland plastic rarity which was somewhat amusing.2018 August 12, Corwin Caelin, “The bucket list – a Wallaby and a Wombat – part 1”, in Go Birding (blog), archived from the original on 23 Aug 2018:
- Derived terms
110 terms
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