🪨 Not flexible 🌱 No plastic

nonplastic

7.0

Not able to be shaped by hand or molded

adjective
/nɒnˈplæstɪk/

: no plástico

The dried clay was completely nonplastic and could not be shaped by hand.

Examples

This material is nonplastic and cannot be molded.
After being exposed to air, the dough became nonplastic and difficult to work with.
Materials that are nonplastic are often used for building strong, stable structures.
The nonplastic components are more durable.
The dried clay was completely nonplastic and could not be shaped by hand.
Materials that are nonplastic are often used for building strong, stable structures.
After being exposed to air, the dough became nonplastic and difficult to work with.

Synonyms

rigid

vsnonplastic

35 4.0

Does not bend because it is stiff

focuses on lacking moldability rather than just being physically stiff

unyielding

vsnonplastic

2 6.7

Hard and not easily bent or broken by force

refers instead to inability to be reshaped or molded despite pressure

inflexible

vsnonplastic

1 4.9

Not able to bend or change shape

emphasizes lack of plastic change rather than only absence of bendability

aplastic

vsnonplastic

9.1

Does not bend or change shape

is the identical sense expressed by another form or term

unmalleable

vsnonplastic

9.0

Too hard to shape or bend

describes inability to be reshaped as an inherent lack of plasticity

Antonyms

plastic

38 3.6

Easy to shape when soft, for example clay

How Malleable

plastic

38 3.6

malleable

Specialized

3 6.0

nonplastic

7.0

brittle

31 3.9

Surface Forms

nonplastic positive

Morphology

nonplastic = plastic (transparent) = non + plastic

The adjective is directly negated by the productive prefix 'non-', so the meaning is clearly 'not malleable'.

Etymology

Nonplastic combines the prefix non- meaning 'not' with plastic, which comes from an old Greek word that meant 'to shape' or 'to form'. So nonplastic here means 'not able to be shaped or changed', like dried clay that you cannot mould.