Inelasticity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being unable to stretch, expand, or adjust easily in response to force or changing circumstances
2. The characteristic of being resistant to change in shape, size, or responsiveness under stress or varying conditions occurs
3. The state of lacking flexibility or adaptability in response to forces, pressures, or changes in circumstances is evident

Etymology: Inelasticity is a plain formation: the prefix "in-", meaning "not", attached to "elasticity." Nothing about it is a coinage with a famous author or a dramatic shift in meaning, so the most useful thing to note is how the pieces fit together. The base word traces back through Latin "elasticus," itself formed from the Greek "elaunein," meaning "to drive" or "to set in motion," and in English it names the tendency of a body to spring back to its former shape. Adding "in-" reverses that quality, so the term describes something that resists being stretched, compressed or reshaped, or that fails to respond to a change in price, demand or circumstance. The prefix "in-" has a long history of its own. It comes from the same root as English "not," and it appears in countless English words, from "inactive" to "incomplete." Its presence here is what makes the word work as a negative: the noun simply reads as the absence of "elasticity."

Synonyms: rigidity, stiffness

Antonyms: elasticity, flexibility