What does inelasticity mean?
Inelasticity is the degree to which something fails to respond elastically. In economics, it describes a market in which demand or supply changes only slightly when price changes; this commonly applies to necessities or products with few substitutes. A highly inelastic market can therefore maintain its quantity of sales despite a substantial price increase. In mechanics, inelasticity refers to the absence or reduction of elastic behaviour. A material may remain permanently deformed after a load is removed, while an inelastic collision converts part of its kinetic energy into sound, heat, or deformation. Although "inelasticity" is useful in technical analysis, the related adjective "inelastic" is generally more common in everyday discussion of prices, demand, collisions, and materials. The word is especially useful when distinguishing a limited response from the complete lack of change.
nounIn economics, a condition in which demand or supply changes only slightly in response to a change in price. More generally, the absence of elastic behaviour, as when a material does not fully regain its original shape after being deformed.
- In economics, the limited responsiveness of demand or supply to a change in price.
- In mechanics, the quality of not behaving elastically, especially a material's failure to return fully to its original dimensions after deformation or a collision's loss of kinetic energy.
"The market's inelasticity allowed prices to rise sharply without causing a substantial fall in demand."
"Because the medicine is essential to many buyers, the market displays considerable inelasticity."
"The coefficient of restitution can be used to quantify a collision's degree of inelasticity."
The plural is grammatically correct but rarely needed because the word is usually used in the singular for a particular market, material, or collision.
"The study compares the elasticities and inelasticities of several agricultural markets."
When prices move but demand barely reacts, economics calls the result inelasticity: the market's stubborn side.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does inelasticity come from?
The word combines the Latin prefix in-, meaning "not," with elastic and the suffix -ity, forming a noun meaning lack of elasticity. Elastic ultimately comes through Latin elasticus from Greek elastikos, a word associated with stretching and derived from elaunein, "to stretch."
Related word forms
How inelasticity is actually used
The term is most common in economics, where it describes limited price responsiveness. In mechanics, related expressions such as "inelastic collision" and "inelastic deformation" are more usual than the noun itself.
Easily confused with inelasticity
Elasticity is the capacity to respond to a change or to return to an original form, whereas inelasticity is the absence or reduction of that capacity.