What's the difference between firm and inflexible?

Firm


Definition:

  • (superl.) Fixed; hence, closely compressed; compact; substantial; hard; solid; -- applied to the matter of bodies; as, firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood.
  • (superl.) Not easily excited or disturbed; unchanging in purpose; fixed; steady; constant; stable; unshaken; not easily changed in feelings or will; strong; as, a firm believer; a firm friend; a firm adherent.
  • (superl.) Solid; -- opposed to fluid; as, firm land.
  • (superl.) Indicating firmness; as, a firm tread; a firm countenance.
  • (a.) The name, title, or style, under which a company transacts business; a partnership of two or more persons; a commercial house; as, the firm of Hope & Co.
  • (a.) To fix; to settle; to confirm; to establish.
  • (a.) To fix or direct with firmness.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Villagers, including one man who has been left disabled and the relatives of six men who were killed, are suing ABG in the UK high court, represented by British law firm Leigh Day, alleging that Tanzanian police officers shot unarmed locals.
  • (2) However, direct measurements of mediator release should be carried out to reach a firm conclusion.
  • (3) Video games specialist Game was teetering on the brink of collapse on Friday after a rescue deal put forward by private equity firm OpCapita appeared to have been given the cold shoulder by lenders who are owed more than £100m.
  • (4) One is that the issue of whether the World Cup should go ahead in Russia and Qatar still firmly remains on the table.
  • (5) Neil Blessitt Bristol • We need to establish what the legal position is with regard to the establishment by the government of a private company co-owned by the Department of Health and the French firm Sopra Steria.
  • (6) Particular attention has been paid to diabetes mellitus and chronic pancreatitis, but a firm conclusion cannot be drawn.
  • (7) Pupils who disrupt the learning of their classmates are dealt with firmly and, in many cases, a short suspension is an effective way of nipping bad behaviour in the bud."
  • (8) Cloning of the A-T allele(s) will assist in the early or prenatal diagnosis of A-T and provide a firm basis for determining who, in the general population, carries this gene and is therefore at a high risk of cancer.
  • (9) We are firmly opposed to that," an unidentified spokesman from the ministry of industry and information technology told the state news agency, Xinhua.
  • (10) Officers arrested her last month during the protest against oil drilling by the energy firm Cuadrilla at Balcombe in West Sussex – a demonstration Lucas has attended several times.
  • (11) "At the moment there are about 1,600 criminal justice firms, and they all have a contract with the lord chancellor.
  • (12) VAT increases don't just hit the poor more than the rich, they also hit small firms, threaten retail jobs and, by boosting inflation, could also lead to higher interest rates."
  • (13) Her story is an incredible tale of triumph over tragedy: a tormented childhood during China's Cultural Revolution, detention and forced exile after exposing female infanticide – then glittering success as the head of a major US technology firm.
  • (14) We firmly believe that a systematic approach to the 12-lead ECG can provide information that can diagnose the difference between ventricular and supraventricular tachycardia, and in many instances diagnose the mechanism and site of origin of the supraventricular tachycardia.
  • (15) Terry Waite Chair, Benedict Birnberg Deputy chair, Antonio Ferrara CEO The Prisons Video Trust • If I want to build a bridge, I call in a firm of civil engineers who specialise in bridge-building.
  • (16) The court hearing – in a case of the kind likely to be heard in secret if the government's justice and security bill is passed – was requested by the law firm Leigh Day and the legal charity Reprieve, acting for Serdar Mohammed, tortured by the Afghan security services after being transferred to their custody by UK forces.
  • (17) Doubts about Hinkley Point have deepened after a detailed report by HSBC’s energy analysts described eight key challenges to the project, which will be built by the state-backed French firm EDF and be part-financed by investment from China .
  • (18) China's relations with the NTC were strained last week when it emerged Chinese arms firms had talked to Muammar Gaddafi's representatives about weapons sales .
  • (19) It may not point to independence – nor, given that large swaths of Wales remain firmly dominated by Labour, mean any huge advance for Plaid Cymru.
  • (20) In order to identify these anchorage structures, the non-DNA materials that remain firmly bound to chromosomal DNA under conditions that disintegrate the high salt-stable architecture of nuclei were investigated.

Inflexible


Definition:

  • (a.) Not capable of being bent; stiff; rigid; firm; unyielding.
  • (a.) Firm in will or purpose; not to be turned, changed, or altered; resolute; determined; unyieding; inexorable; stubborn.
  • (a.) Incapable of change; unalterable; immutable.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In current practice, some of the goals cannot be met; they should be considered as targets worthy of achievement, not as inflexible criteria of acceptance or rejection of methods.
  • (2) These words reflect a departure from Ankara's recent inflexibility, which led the country to freeze relations with Brussels during the Cypriot presidency of the EU in 2012.
  • (3) This results in patterns of inflexibility and weakness that can be demonstrated on a tennis-specific musculoskeletal exam, and that can be correlated with areas of increased injury occurrence.
  • (4) Perforation at the physiologically narrow sites of the esophagus is a wellknown mechanism as is the use of inflexible polyethylen tubes containing a mandrin.
  • (5) Postural instability was associated with abnormal patterns of postural responses including excessive antagonist activity and inflexibility in adapting to changing support conditions.
  • (6) It was only his inflexible determination, the quality that had made him a great general, that mastered the torments of ill-health – sleepless nights, fear of dying – to articulate his account for a devoted American audience.
  • (7) The day-to-day operation of the social security system (especially in universal credit) is crude, inflexible and too often oppressive .
  • (8) When we protect our old industries with subsidies and inflexible legislation, we risk losing all.
  • (9) Differences between groups were maintained across situations, and support the utility of conceptualizing personality disorders in terms of inflexible interpersonal styles.
  • (10) The inflexibility of the present system seems to be a major threat to the principle of regionalization.
  • (11) Wheras the guidelines may appear to be inflexible, they should not be considered as such.
  • (12) Traditional silicone prostheses have been found to be inflexible, heavy, and of poor color match when used on the limbs.
  • (13) When a mode of responding is adopted in noise, subjects are often rather inflexible and continue to use this strategy even though it is inappropriate.
  • (14) Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said: "No individual newspaper editorial could hope to influence the outcome of Copenhagen but I hope the combined voice of 56 major papers speaking in 20 languages will remind the politicians and negotiators gathering there what is at stake and persuade them to rise above the rivalries and inflexibility that have stood in the way of a deal."
  • (15) Ipsa's guidelines on travel expenses suggest MPs should consider "value for money" and whether cheaper, inflexible tickets will end up costing more if travel arrangements change at short notice.
  • (16) We will make decisions based on real-world outcomes – not inflexible ideology,” Trump said.
  • (17) Seven dinucleoside monophosphates containing epsilonA (1,N6-ethenoadenosine) and 2'-O-methylcytidine were studied by 360-MHz proton magnetic resonance and compared with unmodified dimers and component monomers at 4, 20, 45, and 75 degrees C. These studies show that the dimers exhibit preference for the gg and g'g' conformations for the C-4'-C-5' and C-5'-O-5' bonds, respectively, and that dimerization induces an increase of the population and inflexibility of the 3'-endo conformations for the ribose ring.
  • (18) Because of its relative inflexibility, legislation cannot meet the challenge of the subtle and sensitive conflict of values under consideration, nor can it aid in the wise decision making by individuals which is required to assure optimum protection of subjects, together with the fullest effectiveness of research.
  • (19) It would be foolhardy to offer an inflexible step-care protocol for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, given its heterogeneity and our uncertainty about its pathogenesis.
  • (20) Now researchers have developed a soft, flexible robot prototype inspired by starfish, worms and squid that overcomes some of the limitations of inflexible robots like Robbie.