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What is the difference between elastic and plastic?

elastic | plastic | Antonyms |

Plastic is a antonym of elastic.



As adjectives the difference between elastic and plastic

is that elastic is capable of stretching; particularly, capable of stretching so as to return to an original shape or size when force is released while plastic is capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.

As nouns the difference between elastic and plastic

is that elastic is an elastic material used in clothing, particularly in waistbands and cuffs while plastic is a sculptor, moulder.

elastic

English

Alternative forms

* elastick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Capable of stretching; particularly, capable of stretching so as to return to an original shape or size when force is released.
  • The rope is somewhat elastic , so expect it to give when you pull on it.
  • Made of elastic.
  • elastic band
  • Of clothing, elasticated.
  • (economics) Sensitive to changes in price.
  • Demand for entertainment is more elastic than demand for energy.
  • springy; bouncy; vivacious
  • * 1900 , , The House Behind the Cedars , Chapter I,
  • He could see that she was tastefully, though not richly, dressed, and that she walked with an elastic step that revealed a light heart and the vigor of perfect health. Her face, of course, he could not analyze, since he had caught only the one brief but convincing glimpse of it.
  • Able to return quickly to a former state or condition, after being depressed or overtaxed; having power to recover easily from shocks and trials.
  • elastic''' spirits; an '''elastic constitution

    Synonyms

    * stretchy * stretchable

    Noun

  • (uncountable) An elastic material used in clothing, particularly in waistbands and cuffs.
  • Running shorts use elastic to eliminate the need for a belt.
  • (countable) An elastic band.
  • Anagrams

    *

    plastic

    English

    Alternative forms

    * plastick (archaic)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A sculptor, moulder.
  • (archaic) Any solid but malleable substance.
  • A synthetic, thermoplastic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics' are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. Dr Mincer and Dr Amaral-Zettler found evidence of them on their marine ' plastic , too.}}
  • Any similar synthetic material, not necessarily thermoplastic.
  • (colloquial) Credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.
  • *
  • (slang) Fakeness, or a person who is fake or arrogant, or believes that they are better than the rest of the population.
  • *
  • *
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * bioplastic * plastic explosive

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.
  • * 1749 , (Henry Fielding), , Folio Society 1973, p. 103:
  • 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.
  • * 1898 , Journal of Microscopy (page 256)
  • Plastic mud, brownish tinted, rich in floatings.
  • * 2012 , Adam Zeman, ‘Only Connect’, Literary Review , issue 399:
  • 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.
  • (dated) Creative, formative.
  • * Prior
  • the plastic hand of the Creator
  • * Alexander Pope
  • See plastic Nature working to his end.
  • (biology) Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability.
  • Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material.
  • Made of plastic.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
  • , title=(The China Governess) , chapter=Foreword citation , passage=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.}}
  • Inferior or not the real thing; ersatz.
  • *
  • *
  • * {{quote-book, title=The pirate's dilemma: how youth culture is reinventing capitalism
  • , page=, author=Matt James Mason, year=2008, passage=Frustrated by a globalized music industry force-feeding them plastic pop music, hackers, remixers, and activists began to mobilize...}}
  • (slang) Fake, snobbish. Usually refers to a person.
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  • Synonyms

    * malleable, flexible, pliant * ersatz * fake

    Antonyms

    * elastic * genuine

    Derived terms

    * plastic beauty * plastician * plasticity * plasticizer * plasticine * plastic surgery * thermoplastic