What does plasticized mean?
Plasticized means that something has been made plastic, pliable, or unusually easy to shape. The process may involve heating a material, treating it with a chemical plasticizer, or otherwise altering it so that it can be manipulated without cracking. Wood, clay, rubber, and various industrial compounds are commonly plasticized for particular purposes. Plasticized wood, for example, can be bent around a frame while retaining its natural grain, making it useful in furniture making and craft. The word may also describe an object covered or sealed with plastic to protect it from moisture, dirt, or wear. In general use, plasticized has a technical or manufactured quality and is less common than the simpler words softened or made pliable. It can consequently convey both practical transformation and the less flattering sense of something being artificially made more flexible, uniform, or compliant.
To make a material plastic, pliable, or easier to shape, especially by heating or adding a plasticizer.
"The manufacturer plasticized the polymer before shaping it."
This is the past tense and past participle of plasticize.
Made plastic or pliable, or covered with plastic.
"The cabinet was made from plasticized wood."
As an adjective, plasticized often follows a material noun such as wood, clay, or fabric.
Plasticized wood can be bent into smooth curves without snapping—a surprising transformation of one of the world’s most familiar materials.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of plasticized
Plasticized was formed in English from plastic plus the suffix -ize, with the ending -ed creating the past tense and past participle. Plastic ultimately comes through Latin from Greek plastikos, meaning “moulded” or “fitted for moulding,” from plastos, “moulded,” which is related to plassein, “to mould.” Related English words include plastic, plastics, plasticity, and plasticizer.
Related word forms
How plasticized is actually used
The term is most common in specialist and industrial contexts, including woodworking, ceramics, manufacturing, and materials science. In American English it is normally spelled with a z; British English commonly uses the form “plasticised.”
Easily confused with plasticized
Plastered means covered with plaster, a material traditionally made from lime, gypsum, or similar substances, whereas plasticized means made pliable or coated with plastic.