plasticity

noun

plas·​tic·​i·​ty pla-ˈsti-sə-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being plastic

especially : capacity for being molded or altered

2

: the ability to retain a shape attained by pressure deformation

3

: the capacity of organisms with the same genotype to vary in developmental pattern, in phenotype, or in behavior according to varying environmental conditions

4

: the capacity for continuous alteration of the neural pathways and synapses of the living brain and nervous system in response to experience or injury

Synonyms

• malleability

Examples of plasticity in a Sentence

we chose that type of clay for its greater plasticity

Recent Examples on the Web

This increases the activity of genes important to the activity and plasticity of neurons, supporting the idea that exercise improves learning and memory and can decrease the risk of dementia. —Karla Kaun, Discover Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024

This month’s columnist, R. Douglas Fields, is a neuroscientist studying the cellular mechanisms of brain development and plasticity. —Rebecca Boyle, Quanta Magazine, 24 Jan. 2024

Psilocybin, a psychedelic chemical derived from certain mushrooms, works by improving brain plasticity, which is the ability for neurons in the brain — typically isolated from one another in depressed people — to communicate. —Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Jan. 2024

The new study, Katz said, hints that playing with this plasticity could be a way that new movement behaviors evolve. —Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar. 2024

The period is marked by high levels of brain plasticity before neural connections become more fixed. —Craig S. Smith, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

This plasticity may explain our ability to adapt to our environments within our lifetime, rather than through generations of natural selection. —Max G. Levy, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2024

In humans, however, these cells gradually lose this plasticity through a succession of transformations that differentiate them into specialized roles. —Philip Ball, Scientific American, 18 Apr. 2023

This ability of cells and tissues to develop different types of structures is called plasticity. —Philip Ball, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1727, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

plasticity

noun

plas·​tic·​i·​ty pla-ˈstis-ət-ē 

: the quality or state of being plastic

especially : capacity for being molded or changed in form or shape

Medical Definition

plasticity

noun

plas·​tic·​i·​ty pla-ˈstis-ət-ē 

plural plasticities

1

: the quality or state of being plastic

especially : capacity for being molded or altered

2

: the ability to retain a shape attained by pressure deformation

3

: the capacity of organisms with the same genotype to vary in developmental pattern, in phenotype, or in behavior according to varying environmental conditions

4

: the capacity for continuous alteration of the neural pathways and synapses of the living brain and nervous system in response to experience or injury that involves the formation of new pathways and synapses and the elimination or modification of existing ones