inelastic
Americanadjective
-
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.
adjective
-
not elastic; not resilient
-
physics (of collisions) involving an overall decrease in translational kinetic energy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inelastic
Explanation
Things that are inelastic are stiff and unbendable. Metal is often inelastic, while rubber generally isn't. If something's elastic, it's flexible and can easily bend back to its original shape. Inelastic is the opposite: Silly Putty is elastic, but a wooden block is inelastic. This adjective is also used figuratively in economics to mean "not changing much in response to variables." If the price of wheat always stayed the same, no matter what, it would be considered inelastic.
Vocabulary lists containing inelastic
Engineering - Introductory
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Economics
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Mechanical Engineering
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Demand for oil was assumed to be relatively inelastic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Using advanced inelastic neutron scattering techniques, the researchers observed both the positions of atoms within the crystal and how those atoms moved.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
“This strategy, in our opinion, leverages share gains at the lower end and pushes prices higher in the more inelastic segments.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Demand is what economists call inelastic, meaning it doesn't respond to price signals.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Is the demand for gold elastic, or is it inelastic?
From Readings in Money and Banking Selected and Adapted by Phillips, Chester Arthur
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
