Uncurvable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Incapable of being bent or curved; resistant to any attempt at forming a bend or arc; maintaining a straight or rigid shape
2. Not susceptible to being shaped into a curve; unable to be made to deviate from a linear form; characterized by firmness against flexing or arching
3. Impossible to bend or flex into a curve; unyielding to forces that would cause curving; inherently retaining a straight, unbending condition

Etymology: "Uncurvable" is built from three parts: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", the verb "curve," and the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." Put together, it describes something that cannot be made to bend into a curve. "Curve" itself comes from the Latin "curvus," meaning "bent" or "crooked," and reached English through Old French "courbe" in the late Middle Ages. The formation is entirely regular. English has long attached "-able" to verbs to describe what can or cannot be done to them, so "uncurvable" follows the same pattern as words like "unbreakable" or "unbendable." Because it is a transparent compound of familiar parts, its meaning can be worked out from its pieces without any special history behind it.

Synonyms: inflexible, rigid, unbendable, straight

Antonyms: curvable, bendable, flexible