elastic

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Definitions (36)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. adjective Easily resuming original shape after being stretched or expanded; flexible. See Synonyms at flexible.
  2. adjective Springy; rebounding.
  3. adjective Physics Returning to or capable of returning to an initial form or state after deformation.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (22)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (4)

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Examples (50)

  • It is elastic, and enlarges with every lawful claimant to be admitted into its sanctuary. —  Ernest Linwood or, The Inner Life of the Author
  • His footstep was light and elastic, and his whole body seemed to breathe out a gay activity, a fulness of the joy of life. —  The Call of the Blood
  • It should be understood that our corps organizations are very elastic, and that we have at no time had permanent assignments of divisions to corps After four hours' artillery preparation, the seven American divisions in the front line advanced at 5 A.M. on Sept. 12, assisted by a limited number of tanks, manned partly by Americans and partly by French. —  Winning a Cause World War Stories
  • As the muscles and ligaments are elastic, the womb slightly changes its position with different movements of the body. —  Herself Talks with Women Concerning Themselves
  • Every woman should be provided with a circular girdle cut upon the bias so it may be elastic, and provided with tabs to which to pin the folded cloth. —  Herself Talks with Women Concerning Themselves
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

flexible ·  supple ·  transparent ·  soft ·  springy ·  brittle ·  slender ·  muscular ·  silken ·  buoyant ·  dense ·  robust
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. New Latin elasticus, from Late Greek elastos, beaten, ductile, variant of Greek elatos, from elaunein, to beat out.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also elastick (first recorded in the form elastical: see first quot.); = French élastique = Spanish elático = Portuguese Italian elastico (cf. D. G. elastisch = Danish Swedish elastisk), from New Latin elasticus (New Greek ἐλαστικός), elastic, from Greek as if *ἐλαστής, for ἐλατής, equivalent to ἐλατήρ, a driver, hurler (see elater), from ε\λαύνειν(ἐλα-), drive, set in motion, push, strike, beat out.
 

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/əˈlæstɪk/
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