Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not elastic; lacking flexibility or stretchiness: Describes a material or substance that does not easily return to its original shape after being stretched, compressed, or deformed.
   • Rigid, unyielding, or difficult to change: Describes something that is not adaptable or responsive to change.
   • (Economics) Unresponsive to changes in price or income: Describes the quantity demanded or supplied of a good that changes very little when its price or consumer income changes.

Usage and Examples

• Describing Physical Properties:

  • Clay is an inelastic material; it deforms permanently under pressure.
  • The old rubber band had become brittle and inelastic.

• Describing Abstract Concepts:

  • The company's inelastic policies could not adapt to the new market trends.
  • He had an inelastic mindset, refusing to consider alternative viewpoints.

• Describing Economic Behavior:

  • The demand for basic necessities like medicine is often inelastic; people need it regardless of price.
  • An inelastic supply curve indicates that producers cannot quickly increase output when prices rise.

Advanced Usage

• "Perfectly inelastic" (Economics): A theoretical extreme where quantity demanded or supplied does not change at all in response to price changes.

  • The demand for a life-saving drug with no substitutes is considered perfectly inelastic.

• "Inelastic collision" (Physics): A collision in which kinetic energy is not conserved (though momentum is). The objects may stick together or deform.

  • A car crash is typically an inelastic collision.

Variants and Related Words

• Inelasticity (n): The state or quality of being inelastic.

  • The inelasticity of the demand for insulin makes it a critical public health issue.

• Elastic (adj): The direct antonym, meaning flexible, stretchy, or responsive to change.

Synonyms

• Rigid: Stiff, not bending or changing easily.
• Unyielding: Not giving way to pressure; inflexible.
• Unresponsive: Not reacting or responding to stimuli or changes.
• Inflexible: Not capable of being bent or changed.

Antonyms

• Elastic: Capable of returning to original shape; flexible.
• Flexible: Capable of bending easily; adaptable.
• Responsive: Reacting quickly and positively to changes.
• Pliable: Easily bent or shaped; adaptable.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Price elasticity of demand: An economic measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in its price. "Inelastic demand" is a key concept within this framework.
• Income elasticity of demand: A measure of how the quantity demanded responds to a change in consumer income. A necessity often has low (inelastic) income elasticity.

Adjective

1. not elastic
   • economists speak of an inelastic price structure