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Glite Dictionary
Plasticine

Plasticine

1 4.2
A soft, non-drying material for making models often used by children and artists
  • noun
  • /ˈplæstɪˌsiːn/
translation icon : Plasticina
  • The sculptor used Plasticine to prototype the initial design of his statue.
  • Plasticine figures
  • Plasticine clay
  • model figures in Plasticine

Examples

  • The courtyard is full of plasticine people, laughing and singing amidst stalls and sideshows.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • John returns Nicholas to the shelf, placing him amidst a whole family of beautifully sculpted Plasticine figures.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The filmmakers are selling the plasticine artwork for $10 a frame through their website.

    Blog text (32)

  • What really reinforces the learning of anatomy, however, is when students work with plasticine clay to shape their body structures.

    Academic text (2002)

  • BOROVNIA CASTLE GATES - DAY: The Plasticine figure of Nicholas is hurrying down the passage toward the castle gates.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • ILAM/Juliet's Bedroom - Day: Pauline and Juliet kneading and shaping Plasticine with their fingers...

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Pauline notices a row of beautifully sculpted Plasticine horses adorning the mantelpiece.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • In the visual arts performance tasks, students worked with Plasticine (a clay-like substance), charcoal, drawing pencils, and numerous construction materials.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Children love to create colorful shapes and figures using Plasticine during art class.

  • For the school project, she chose to make a garden scene out of Plasticine and other craft materials.

Synonyms

mache
vsPlasticine
2 8.8

A light material of paper and glue used to make masks and small sculptures

is a soft synthetic material rather than paper based
Play-Doh
vsPlasticine
2.7

A soft colorful material children shape with their hands to make objects

is used both by children and by artists for modeling

How Moldable

Plasticine
1 4.2
Play-Doh
2.7
putty
47 4.5
slime
85 1.8

Surface Forms

Plasticine singular
Plasticines plural

Morphology

Plasticine = plastic (semi-transparent) = plastic + ine

Formally built from 'plastic' + the product-forming suffix '-ine', so learners can infer it denotes a synthetic material, but the word is a brand/product name and the material is not ordinary 'plastic', which may mislead learners.

Etymology

The word Plasticine comes from plastic, a word that originally meant 'to shape' or 'to mold'. So Plasticine is a soft material you can easily shape to make models, and it does not dry out.