Plasticity

//ˈplæs.tɪs.ɪ.ti// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The quality or state of being plastic. countable, uncountable

    "In place of a stinger, a male bee or wasp has hardened genitalia […] used for grasping the female during mating and transferring sperm. Male genitalia are a showcase of structural plasticity."

  2. 2
    the property of being physically malleable; the property of something that can be worked or hammered or shaped without breaking wordnet
  3. 3
    The property of a solid body whereby it undergoes a permanent change in shape or size when subjected to a stress exceeding a particular value (the yield value). countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
elasticitymalleabilityadaptabilityadjustabilityagreeabilityagreeableness

Example

More examples

"Pilewort exhibits great phenotypic plasticity, its size and growth habit varying wildly on different sites."

Etymology

From plastic + -ity.

Related phrases

genomic plasticityphenotypic plasticityvisco-elasto-plasticityyield value

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.