View synonyms for inelastic

inelastic

[ in-i-las-tik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

not elastic; lacking flexibility or resilience; unyielding.
Synonyms: uncompromising, rigid, inflexible
Economics. relatively unresponsive to changes, as demand when it fails to increase in proportion to a decrease in price. Compare elastic ( def 6 ).

inelastic

/ ˌɪnɪlæsˈtɪsɪtɪ; ˌɪnɪˈlæstɪk /

not elastic; not resilient
physics (of collisions) involving an overall decrease in translational kinetic energy

First recorded in 1740–50; in- ³ + elastic

The difficulty is assuming that a lung transplant is "inelastic".

Things can be more or less inelastic, which is to say, that demand can be more or less responsive to changes in price.

The last glass of water in a desert is the quintessential inelastic good; people will pay all they have to get it.

From the point of view of cover, the gold certificate is completely inelastic.

It was inelastic, incompetent to adapt itself to changing circumstances.

Catching sight of his Captain on the platform, the Doctor bent his steps thither, and they were slow and inelastic.

At the same moment we heard the fall 220 of something heavy and inelastic in the upper story.

It is not permitted to discriminate; it can neither relax nor repress; it is absolutely inelastic.

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