Immalleable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The state of being incapable of being shaped or altered under stress
2. Unable to be deformed or reshaped when force or pressure is applied
3. Resistant to physical alteration or reshaping due to stiffness or brittleness

Etymology: "Immalleable" is formed from the prefix "im-", meaning "not", attached to "malleable." The prefix "im-" is the form "in-" takes before a labial consonant like "m," so the same negating element that gives "impossible" and "immovable" appears here. "Malleable" itself comes from medieval Latin "malleabilis," from "malleus," meaning "hammer," which is why the base word originally described metal that could be beaten into shape. Combining the two produces a word that describes something resisting the hammer, so to speak. The meaning given here, incapable of being shaped or altered under stress, is a direct extension of that original image of metal refusing to bend under the blows of a smith.

Synonyms: rigid, inflexible, unyielding

Antonyms: malleable, flexible, adaptable