Standard Lemma guide

inelastic

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˌɪnəˈlæstɪk/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æstɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N AH0 L AE1 S T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Lacking elasticity; inflexible, unyielding.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: literal or figurative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Insensitive to changes in price.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: economics, sciences

Examples

  • perfectly inelastic supply

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Resistant to swings during elections; predictable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

Topics: government, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

not elastic

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • economists speak of an inelastic price structure

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: elastic

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- Proto-Indo-European *h1elh2- Proto-Indo-European *h1l̥h2-tósder. Ancient Greek ἐλᾰστός (elăstós) Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus New Latin elasticusbor. French élastiquebor. English elastic English inelastic From in- + elastic.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: нееластичен (neelastičen) — lacking elasticity
  • Catalan: inelàstic — lacking elasticity
  • Dutch: inelastisch — lacking elasticity
  • Finnish: kimmoton — lacking elasticity
  • Finnish: epäelastinen — lacking elasticity
  • French: inélastique — lacking elasticity
  • Greek: ανελαστικός (anelastikós) — lacking elasticity
  • Italian: anelastico — lacking elasticity
  • Manx: neuspinneydagh — lacking elasticity
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uelastisk — lacking elasticity
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: uelastisk — lacking elasticity
  • Polish: nieelastyczny — lacking elasticity
  • Romanian: neelastic — lacking elasticity
  • Spanish: inelástico — lacking elasticity
  • Tagalog: diigkasin — lacking elasticity
  • Welsh: anelastig — lacking elasticity