terse

Meaning

1. (broadly) Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
2. (broadly) Of manner or speech: abruptly or brusquely short; curt.
3. (obsolete) Burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce.

Opposite of

prolix, verbose, wordy, concise, taciturn, unverbose

Synonyms

concise

succinct

laconic

brief

curt

crisp

pithy

compendious

sententious

summary

tight

compact

short

simple

lucid

luculent

perspicuous

pointed

seared

sere

small-scale

spare

telegraphic

thrifty

tightlipped

trenchant

unambiguous

unequivocal

univocal

well-trained

simple and clear

droughty

short and sweet

koanlike

arid

nonverbose

articulate

austere

brief and comprehensive

clear

condensed

dry

elliptical

exact

explicit

frugal

lapidary

letter

limited

Translations

laconique

knapp

prägnant

beknopt

conciso

λακωνικός

lacónico

conciso

lapidaire

concís

succinct

bondig

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɜːs/

Etymology

From Latin tersus (“clean, cleansed, rubbed or wiped off; neat, spruce; terse”), perfect passive participle of Latin tergeō, tergō (“to clean, cleanse, rub, wipe, wipe off”).