The quality or state of being anelastic; the property of a material that fails to return completely to its original shape after deformation.
From anelastic plus the noun-forming suffix -ity. This technical term in materials science and physics denotes a fundamental property of matter.
Anelasticity is why a rubber band eventually loses its snap, why metals bend permanently, and why old plastic becomes brittle—it's the inevitable tendency of materials toward permanent deformation that engineers must constantly account for in design.
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