plasticity

UK/ˌplæs.ˈtɪs.ɪ.ti/US/ˌplæs.ˈtɪs.ɪ.ti/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,238 of 15,258mostly written

Plasticity is the ability to be shaped or to adapt. The plasticity of clay.

In the brain it means the capacity to rewire, which continues throughout life rather than stopping in childhood. Plasticity in a material means it keeps the new shape rather than springing back.

Definitions of plasticity

1nounplasticityThe ability to be shaped or to adapt.C1
“The plasticity of the young brain is what makes languages so easy then.”

plasticity is an ability.

Where it comes from

Latin
plasticus
English
plastic
English, today
plasticity

Built from

πλάσσω · Ancient Greek — to mold, form

From plastic + -ity. plastic comes from Latin plasticus. From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός, from πλάσσω (“to mold, form”). a doublet of plastique.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

plasticity in the wild

For example, a solid piece of metal being bent or pounded into a new shape displays plasticity as permanent changes occur within the material itself.
Plasticity (physics)
Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is a biological process that adjusts the strength of synaptic connections between neurons based on the relative timing of their action potentials (or spikes).
Spike-timing-dependent plasticity
The developing brain exhibits a higher degree of plasticity than the adult brain.
Neuroplasticity
Nevertheless, mobile organisms also have at least some degree of plasticity in at least some aspects of the phenotype.
Phenotypic plasticity
Rate-dependent plasticity is important for transient plasticity calculations.
Viscoplasticity

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the plasticus family

plastic

plasticity — used about once every 41,009 pages · #14,238 · point at the bar for the others

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