Definitions

terse

[turs] / tɜrs /

ADJECTIVE

brief, short

Synonyms

STRONGEST

brusque concise cryptic curt elliptical incisive laconic pithy precise succinct trenchant

WEAK

abrupt aphoristic boiled down breviloquent clear-cut clipped close compact compendiary compendious condensed crisp cut to the bone epigrammatic exact gnomic in a nutshell lean neat pointed sententious short and sweet snappy summary taut to the point

Antonyms

STRONGEST

gentle kind lengthy long-winded nice polite verbose wordy

WEAK

prolix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Terse, well briefed and abstaining from any gesture of triumph, he not only learned to sound like the former chancellor, he even emulated her body language, holding his hands together in her signature diamond shape.

From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2022

Terse rulings on emergency applications are not new.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2020

Terse, heavy statement right there from the Academy.

From The Guardian • Oct. 15, 2017

Terse as they are, these documents can also make extremely emotional reading, Siekman and Morgan say.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2016

“That's it. We are a terse people. Terse, and also hungry.”

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Vocabulary lists containing terse

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