inflexible
11
4.7
- adjective
- /ɪnˈflɛksəbl/
:
inflexible
- Teachers should not have to struggle against an inflexible schedule to find time to work with colleagues.
- inflexible rules
- inflexible schedule
- inflexible requirements
You know, if I was inflexible, I might have started, you know, yelling, fighting.
- You know, if I was inflexible, I might have started, you know, yelling, fighting.
- But I see the CDC just rankly politicized and and inflexible.
- I know that's not race, but I mean, this is not a stultified, closed, inflexible, domineering society.
- This is why big institutions are so inflexible, and why change happens so slowly, inch by angry inch.
Examples
-
The Georgia Trustees started by outlining a plan that was too idealistic and inflexible to succeed.
Academic text (2011) -
Programs should not be so content-specific or inflexible that they cannot meet the changing demands of the clients/population.
Academic text (1991) -
Darling, I do think it would be inflexible of you.
-
So a lot of quite inflexible aspects to his behaviour.
-
They were inflexible in the nuclear discussions.
-
Mary and Thomas, by contrast, come across as "inflexible and resolute"; they reject the magistrates' offers of peace.
Academic text (2015) -
In that role, she has developed a reputation among some Republican state legislators as inflexible and uncompromising.
Academic text (2017) -
Escalating workplace demands and inflexible workplace structures pose further obstacles to aspiring women leaders.
Academic text (2017) -
The manager was inflexible in his decisions, refusing to consider any alternative proposals.
-
Her inflexible attitude made it difficult for the team to adapt to new ideas and strategies.
Synonyms
217
2.9
Not willing to change your mind even when others try to persuade you
70
4.2
Not willing to change ideas or ways of doing things
24
6.8
Not willing to change opinions or demands, even if it causes problems
22
7.9
Very unwilling to accept change or new ideas
16
7.5
Refusing to change your opinion or behavior even when others try to persuade you
10
6.5
Very firm in decisions and not willing to change or give up
8
8.1
Not willing to change views or agree with others
6
6.7
Refusing to change your mind even when shown evidence
4
7.2
Not willing to change habits or the way they do things
3
6.9
Not willing to change your opinions or actions
3
8.8
A person who refuses to change their opinion or behaviour even when others try to persuade them
2
9.5
Still holding old beliefs and unwilling to change
1
8.1
Not willing to change your mind or actions
1
9.9
Refusing to change beliefs or show regret, even when wrong
1
7.4
Not able or willing to change when conditions are different
Not able to change when facing new conditions
Refusing to change an opinion even when people give reasons
Very hard and does not bend or change under pressure
Fixed and not open to change, often about rules or positions
Not willing to change your mind or what you do
Not willing to accept new ideas and slow to change
Antonyms
How Willing
Surface Forms
Morphology
inflexible = flexible (transparent) = in + flex + ible
This sense is a straightforward negation of the common figurative sense of 'flexible' meaning adaptable or willing to change.
Etymology
Inflexible comes from the parts in- 'not' and flex 'bend', the same root you see in flexible. Think of a person like a piece of metal that will not bend—so an inflexible person is unwilling or unable to change or meet others halfway.