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.

In rare cases, their votes are revealed in terse indications that they grant or deny the application, or even more rarely, as an opinion.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026

Maresca can often come across as distant and terse when dealing with the media.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

Instead of consulting, DHS sent a single terse email to the State Department, which did not even cover the topic of a country’s safety and instead asked about any general “foreign policy concerns.”

From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026

The next day, Greenspan issued a terse statement that the Fed was ready to serve as “a source of liquidity” to markets.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

He’s terse, and I can see Ayesha tense up.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Vocabulary lists containing terse

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