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🎈 Without a frame 🔄 Flexible change
nonrigid

nonrigid

8.2
An airship with no internal frame whose shape comes from gas pressure
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈrɪdʒɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no rígido
  • The nonrigid airship floated gracefully in the sky.

Examples

  • The Zeppelin museum displayed a famous nonrigid airship from the early twentieth century.

  • Unlike rigid airships, nonrigid blimps rely entirely on internal gas pressure to hold their shape.

  • During World War I, nonrigid airships were often used for naval patrols and observation.

  • A nonrigid airship can be more efficient than traditional ones.

  • A nonrigid airship floats gracefully in the sky, its shape held by hot air inside.

  • The engineers designed a nonrigid balloon that expands and contracts as needed.

  • The nonrigid structure of certain airships depends on gas pressure rather than solid frameworks.

Synonyms

inflatable
vsnonrigid
41 3.6

Made to be filled with air so it becomes larger and firm

is specific to airships whose shape is held only by internal gas pressure

Antonyms

rigid
  • Specialized
6 6.8

An airship that has a stiff frame inside to keep its shape

Surface Forms

nonrigid positive

Morphology

nonrigid = rigid (transparent) = non + rigid

Meaning is directly formed from the productive negating prefix 'non-' plus 'rigid' and an average learner who knows 'rigid' will infer 'not rigid'.

Etymology

Nonrigid comes from non- 'not' and rigid 'stiff'. Think of a blimp that has no hard frame and keeps its shape only because of gas inside, not because it has a solid skeleton. So nonrigid airships are 'not stiff' and rely on internal pressure to hold their shape.