terse
adjective
Synonyms
- aphoristic
- apothegmatic
- brief
- capsule
- compact
- compendious
- concise
- crisp
- curt
- elliptical
- elliptic
- epigrammatic
- laconic
- monosyllabic
- pithy
- sententious
- succinct
- summary
- telegraphic
- thumbnail
Example Sentences
Devin Gordon, Newsweek, 29 July 2002 … Johnston stays bolted to the wheelhouse floor, wrestling the helm and jotting down notes in the ship log. His entries are terse, bullet descriptions of the unending chaos outside. Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997 This vicious cycle was captured succinctly in Gandhi's terse warning that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. David McCabe, Commonweal, 11 Apr. 1997 She accepts the caller's terse expression of sympathy and duly expresses in return her appreciation for that unenviable bit of message-bearing. John Barth, Harper's, January 1994 She gave me a few terse instructions and promptly left the room. could tell from his terse replies to my questions that he was in no mood to talk See More Detroit Free Press, 3 Sep. 2022 Utah Democratic Party spokesperson Ben Anderson offered a terse comment on Sinema’s visit. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Aug. 2022 Passalis’ script, co-written with Eleni Vergeti, is terse, yet there are whole dialogues of chemistry going on in the exchanges between his kind, crinkling eyes and her open, anxious gaze. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 9 July 2022 Yet while Lader and Walker’s script teases a more acidic strain of social satire, the film’s generally terse approach extends to its commentary. Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Mar. 2022 The information was terse, only that Giffords had been shot. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 15 Mar. 2022 The dialogue is terse, aphoristic, cutting, and delivered frankly, plainly, with little artifice or mannerism. Richard Brod, The New Yorker, 14 July 2021 His exchanges with Rob are terse to the point of being hostile. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 July 2021 As a result, communication with his team was terse and brief. Ashton Shanks, Forbes, 25 May 2021 See More Word History
Latin tersus clean, neat, from past participle of tergēre to wipe off
1601, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
terse
adjective
terse
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- concise
- brief
- summary
- curt
- succinct
- pithy
- laconic
- monosyllabic
- aphoristic
- epigrammatic
- short
- telegraphic
- blunt
- sententious
- crisp
- compact
- brusque
- compendious
- capsule
- condensed
- abrupt
- thumbnail
- elliptic
- abbreviated
- elliptical
- shortened
- brusk
- apothegmatic
- snippy
- meaningful
- meaty
- abridged
- snippety
- curtailed
- substantial
- significant
- well-turned
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- verbose
- prolix
- wordy
- circuitous
- circumlocutory
- diffuse
- rambling
- redundant
- repetitious
- windy
- tautological
- long-winded
- pleonastic
- tautologous
- enlarged
- exaggerated
- supplemented
- expanded
- inflated
- embroidered
- embellished
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of terse are compendious, concise, laconic, pithy, succinct, and summary. While all these words mean "very brief in statement or expression," terse implies pointed conciseness.
While in some cases nearly identical to terse, compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.
The words concise and terse can be used in similar contexts, but concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.
In some situations, the words laconic and terse are roughly equivalent. However, 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.
The words succinct and terse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, succinct implies the greatest possible compression.
The meanings of summary and terse largely overlap; however, summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.