inelastic

See also: inelàstic

English

Etymology

From in- +‎ elastic.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪnəˈlæstɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æstɪk

Adjective

inelastic (comparative more inelastic, superlative most inelastic)

1. (literal or figurative) Lacking elasticity; inflexible, unyielding.

   Coordinate terms: nonelastic, rigid

   • 1852, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance:

     He spoke languidly, and only those few words, like a watch with an inelastic spring, that just ticks a moment or two and stops again.

   • 1913, Winston Churchill, The Inside Of The Cup:

     I cannot believe that Christ himself intended that his religion should be so inelastic, so hard and fast, so cruel as you imply.

2. (economics) Insensitive to changes in price.

   perfectly inelastic supply

   • 2023 April 3, 'Industry Insider', “Passengers returning to rail”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 68:

     A different approach is needed now, as there is more discretionary travel which, unlike the use of season tickets, does not have inelastic demand characteristics.

3. (US, politics) Resistant to swings during elections; predictable.

Derived terms

• deep inelastic collision

 

Translations

lacking elasticity

• Bulgarian: нееластичен (bg) (neelastičen)
• Catalan: inelàstic
• Dutch: inelastisch
• Finnish: kimmoton, epäelastinen
• French: inélastique (fr)
• Greek: ανελαστικός (el) (anelastikós)
• Italian: anelastico (it)
• Manx: neuspinneydagh
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uelastisk

  Nynorsk: uelastisk

• Polish: nieelastyczny (pl)
• Romanian: neelastic m or n
• Spanish: inelástico
• Tagalog: diigkasin
• Welsh: anelastig (cy)

Anagrams

• Catilines, elasticin, sciential