Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PLASTICITY

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pronounce PLASTICITY: Say it "plass TISS ih tee." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Something with plasticity is easily shaped, or easily molded. And something with m___ability is easily hammered.  Figuratively speaking, of course. Both terms are synonyms for flexibility, changeability, and adaptability. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: Like the words "plasma" and "plaster," our word "plastic" traces back through Latin to the Greek word plassein, meaning "to mold." Something plastic is soft enough to be molded or shaped. So, if you say something has plasticity, you mean it has the quality of being easily shaped or molded. In a figurative sense, something with plasticity, like the human brain, has the flexibility to change (or be changed) in order to adapt to different situations. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, the uncountable kind: "the plasticity of the brain," "the brain's plasticity." Other forms:  Plastic. how to use it: Pick the word "plasticity" when you need to describe how something has an impressive flexibility: a flexibility that allows it to actually morph into new, different things. Often we talk about the brain's plasticity, also known as "neural plasticity." Here's Scientific American: "Exercise promotes brain plasticity by stimulating the growth of new connections between cells." And here's the neuroscientist Gina Rippon: "With brain plasticity, the brain is a function of experiences. If you learn a skill your brain will change, and it will carry on changing." More generally, we can talk about the plasticity of anything, such as a creative medium, like film or art. Here's Henry James: "the helpless plasticity of childhood." examples: "Ford constantly deploys the plasticity of the [film] medium for the sake of style."    — Brandon Harris, The New Yorker, 24 January 2017 "It's that protean plasticity, combining pieces of many different eras, that marks Olsen's vocal style. She can sing loud, big and pretty, but often prefers not to. Instead, as she moves in and out of folky tremolos and full-throated rock yowls, she pushes her writing to the foreground."    — Alexandra Kleeman, New York Times, 4 September 2019 has this page helped you understand "plasticity"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "plasticity" without saying "flexibility" or "elasticity." try it out: Here's a fact about the human mind that really unsettles me: our own memories have plasticity. That is, every time we recall the same memory, we might be unknowingly shaping it, changing it, and turning it into something deeply inaccurate, even as the memory feels real and true. Talk about a memory you've recalled many, many times over the years. If this memory has plasticity--which it probably does--then in what ways might it be inaccurate now? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game this month is Perfectly Cromulent Words! In each issue this month, match a scene from The Simpsons to the term that it calls to mind. To see the answer, scroll to the bottom of the issue. Try this one today: Does the scene below suggest the word brassbound, bouillabaisse, or ouroboros?   review this word: 1. The opposite of PLASTICITY is A. RIGIDITY. B. ORGANICITY. C. AUTHENTICITY. 2. In defining cardiac plasticity, Fotios G. Pitoulis and Cesare M. Terracciano wrote, "The adult human heart has an exceptional ability to... _____." A. respond to a fight-or-flight event  B. adapt to changes in environmental demands C. supply the tissues of the body with oxygen and nutrients Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. B Answer to the game question: Ouroboros. Something that ends right where it begins, like a snake eating its tail, is uroboric. (Spelled like that? Yup. It's a weird one.) a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.