inelastic
low response to price changes
If demand or supply is inelastic, it changes very little when the price changes.
[demand/supply/market] is inelastic; inelastic [demand/supply]
- Demand for basic medicines is usually inelastic because patients need them regardless of price.
- The company sells a product with relatively inelastic demand, so sales do not fall much when prices rise.
- Supply can be inelastic in the short term if factories cannot quickly increase production.
- Gasoline demand is often inelastic.
- If the price rises, people may still buy an inelastic product.
not stretchy or springy
Something inelastic does not stretch well or does not spring back into shape.
inelastic [material/fabric/tissue]
- The old rubber had become hard and inelastic.
- These inelastic fibers make the fabric strong but uncomfortable.
- Scar tissue can be less flexible and more inelastic than normal skin.
- This fabric is inelastic, so it feels tight.
- The band is old and inelastic.
losing kinetic energy
In physics, an inelastic collision loses some kinetic energy to other forms of energy.
inelastic [collision/interaction/scattering]
- In an inelastic collision, the two carts moved together after impact.
- Some of the kinetic energy in the crash was converted into heat and sound, making the collision inelastic.
- Physicists studied inelastic scattering to learn how the particles exchanged energy.
- A car crash is usually an inelastic collision.
- In an inelastic collision, kinetic energy is lost.
not flexible or adaptable
An inelastic plan or system is hard to change.
inelastic [system/rule/schedule/structure]
- The agency struggled with an inelastic hiring process that could not respond quickly to demand.
- An inelastic schedule leaves little room for unexpected delays.
- Small organizations can suffer when inelastic costs take up most of the budget.
- The schedule was too inelastic to change.
- Their system is inelastic and slow.
- Base: inelastic
inelastic collision
1collision losing kinetic energy
A physics collision where some kinetic energy becomes heat, sound, or deformation.
- A car crash is an inelastic collision because energy goes into bending metal, heat, and sound.
- The students measured an inelastic collision between two carts in the lab.
- In an inelastic collision, the objects may move more slowly after impact.
inelastic demand
1demand barely affected by price
People buy almost the same amount even when the price changes.
- Because insulin is essential, demand for it is highly inelastic.
- The tax raised prices, but inelastic demand meant customers bought nearly the same amount.
- Luxury goods usually have less inelastic demand than basic necessities.
inelastic scattering
1scattering with energy transfer
A particle-scattering event where energy is transferred during the interaction.
- Inelastic scattering experiments revealed details about the material's atomic vibrations.
- The detector measured how much energy the electrons lost during inelastic scattering.
- Researchers used inelastic neutron scattering to study the structure of the sample.
inelastic supply
1supply barely affected by price
The amount sellers can provide changes very little when the price changes.
- Housing supply is often inelastic in cities with strict zoning laws.
- Farm output may be inelastic within a season because crops have already been planted.
- When supply is inelastic, a sudden increase in demand can push prices sharply higher.
perfectly inelastic
1completely unresponsive to price
The quantity does not change at all when the price changes.
- In a textbook graph, perfectly inelastic demand is shown as a vertical demand curve.
- Emergency medical treatment may be close to perfectly inelastic for some patients.
- Perfectly inelastic supply means producers cannot increase output no matter how high the price rises.
perfectly inelastic collision
1collision where objects stick
A collision where the objects stick together and move as one after they hit.
- When the clay ball hit the cart and stuck to it, the impact was a perfectly inelastic collision.
- The two lab carts locked together after the crash, creating a perfectly inelastic collision.
- Students used conservation of momentum to find the final speed after a perfectly inelastic collision.