succinct
adjective
sə-ˈsiŋ(k)t 
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A Succinct History of Succinct
The history of succinct might not be short, but it's a cinch to remember. Succinct traces to Latin succinctus ("tightly wrapped, concise"), which comes from the verb cingere ("to gird"), the word that gave us cincture and cinch. In its earliest uses succinct meant "confined" or "girded up," and, as such, it was often used in reference to garments encircled by a band. Eventually, succinct was extended to the realm of insects, where it meant "supported by a band of silk around the middle" (as in "the succinct pupa of a butterfly"). Later, the word was applied to writings. A "succinct" piece of writing is "compressed" or "compact" and uses as few words as possible.
Synonyms
- aphoristic
- apothegmatic
- brief
- capsule
- compact
- compendious
- concise
- crisp
- curt
- elliptical
- elliptic
- epigrammatic
- laconic
- monosyllabic
- pithy
- sententious
- summary
- telegraphic
- terse
- thumbnail
Example Sentences
Zachary Karabell, Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2009 As Esther Benbassa recounts in her dry but impressively succinct and informative history, they arrived in the Roman province of Gaul in the first centuries of the common era, and soon found themselves trod underfoot by the ascendant Christian church. David A. Bell, New Republic, 28 Feb. 2000 In his first work of popular science, English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking proves himself to be a master of vivid clarity. His title, " A Brief History of Time," is understated even by British standards; in 198 pages Hawking manages no less than a succinct history of cosmology, a concise explanation of general relativity and its intersection with quantum mechanics … Richard Rhodes, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 1988 He gave a succinct overview of the expansion project. a pocket guide that provides succinct explanations for rules of grammar and punctuation Pete Rizzo, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022 Jane has remained composed under questioning from Bonjean, maintaining eye contact as each question is asked and often giving succinct one-word answers. Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2022 Iverson is joined by formidable musical colleagues — violinist Pauline Kim Harris, drummer Vincent Sperrazza, and bassist Dylan Stone — in a succinct performance of his lively, jazzy four-part sonata. Janine Parker, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2022 Scully offered succinct, vivid descriptions and then gracefully fell silent. Sporting Green Staff, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Aug. 2022 It’s succinct, polite and conveys your feelings accurately. Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 20 June 2022 Each test case should be broken down into a sequence of succinct steps. Margarita Simonova, Forbes, 7 July 2022 Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, prompt information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. cleveland, 6 July 2022 Yet the succinct language in Title IX, the landmark education law that was signed in 1972, has origins in even fewer characters. New York Times, 23 June 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Latin succinctus having one's clothes gathered up by a belt, tightly wrapped, concise, from sub- + cinctus, past participle of cingere to gird — more at cincture
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a
succinct
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- concise
- brief
- summary
- pithy
- terse
- short
- blunt
- epigrammatic
- aphoristic
- curt
- telegraphic
- laconic
- compendious
- sententious
- monosyllabic
- crisp
- compact
- condensed
- thumbnail
- capsule
- shortened
- abrupt
- apothegmatic
- elliptical
- abbreviated
- meaningful
- brusque
- elliptic
- abridged
- substantial
- meaty
- brusk
- curtailed
- snippy
- snippety
- significant
- well-turned
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- wordy
- verbose
- prolix
- circuitous
- rambling
- circumlocutory
- redundant
- diffuse
- repetitious
- tautological
- long-winded
- windy
- tautologous
- pleonastic
- enlarged
- exaggerated
- expanded
- supplemented
- inflated
- embroidered
- embellished
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of succinct are compendious, concise, laconic, pithy, summary, and terse. While all these words mean "very brief in statement or expression," succinct implies the greatest possible compression.
The meanings of compendious and succinct largely overlap; however, compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.
In some situations, the words concise and succinct are roughly equivalent. However, concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.
The words laconic and succinct are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.
Pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.
While in some cases nearly identical to succinct, summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.
While the synonyms terse and succinct are close in meaning, terse implies pointed conciseness.