terse Hear it!

terse Definition

terse (tʉrs)

adjective ters′er, ters′·est

  1. free of superfluous words; concise in a polished, smooth way; succinct
  2. brief or concise to the point of rudeness; curt

Etymology: L tersus, wiped off, clean, pp. of tergere, to wipe < IE *terg- < base *ter-, to rub, turn: see throw

terse Related Forms
terse′ly adverb terse′·ness noun
terse Synonyms

terse

modif.

short, pithy, laconic, taut, compact, brief, concise, pointed, neat, exact, trenchant, epigrammatic, cryptic, to the point, carefully edited, precise, abrupt, curt, clipped, brusque; see also abrupt 2, concise, short 2.

Antonyms verbose*, wordy, prolix. See syn. study at concise.concise.

terse Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • reply: Cause of the Imagination Part 2 - Christine D. Soto " Don't argue " , came a terse reply, " just run!
  • response: His terse response is not suitable for a family paper.
  • statement: A refusal to comment beyond terse statements is no way to encourage the wider dialog that is badly needed.
  • description: Chapter three has terse descriptions of a number of theories of trust, related to some generic security concepts.
  • style: His terse, simple style fit the short story beautifully.
  • comment: Read his terse comments about the destruction of a great Roman bath house on the site of the Grosvenor Shopping Precinct here.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: The comments were rather terse; what I wanted to know was whether it worked well enough to even bother with.
  • too: The assaults listed in chapter fourteen are different, but the mentions are too terse to provide any means of defense.
  • very: The order made on 16th June is very terse.
  • quite: The explanations are quite terse, but not out of line with the aim of the book.
  • so: Nevertheless, unlike many dictionaries, the entries are not so terse as to be dry.
  • extremely: Your last email was extremely terse, and I thought it verged on being rude.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: By the time he came to write this account, he was crippled by arthritis, and his style had become necessarily terse.