elasticity
the state or quality of being elastic.
flexibility; resilience; adaptability: a statement with a great elasticity of meaning.
ability to resist or overcome depression; buoyancy.
Physics. the property of a substance that enables it to change its length, volume, or shape in direct response to a force effecting such a change and to recover its original form upon the removal of the force.
Origin of elasticity
1Other words from elasticity
- non·e·las·tic·i·ty, noun
- un·e·las·tic·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use elasticity in a sentence
There are several references to a table of elasticities of vapour; it is not clear which table is meant.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew UreHe thus obtained the values of the ratios of the elasticities or of the specific heats for the gases employed.
Is America not wide enough for the elasticities of our humanity?
On the Old Road Vol. 1 (of 2) | John RuskinThe chief of these concerned the social elasticities of women.
The Turmoil | Booth Tarkington
British Dictionary definitions for elasticity
/ (ɪlæˈstɪsɪtɪ, ˌiːlæ-) /
the property of a body or substance that enables it to resume its original shape or size when a distorting force is removed: See also elastic limit
the state or quality of being elastic; flexibility or buoyancy
a measure of the sensitivity of demand for goods or services to changes in price or other marketing variables, such as advertising
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for elasticity
[ ĭ-lă-stĭs′ĭ-tē ]
The ability of a solid to return to its original shape or form after being subject to strain. Most solid materials display elasticity, up to a load point called the elastic limit; loads higher than this limit cause permanent deformation of the material. See also Hooke's law.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for elasticity (1 of 2)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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