SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
terse
adjective
Expressed in very few words, sometimes with an abrupt tone.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Very brief in expression
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topTerse can be efficiently concise or abruptly brief. Curt and brusque explicitly criticize the tone rather than merely the length.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The terse family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
tersenessnoun
Brevity of expression, sometimes to the point of abruptness.
Brevity of expression
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The terseness of the reply left its tone open to interpretation.
When her housemates offered to help move a heavy desk, Elise began to evince relief by relaxing her shoulders and smiling. Earlier, she had been inarticulate about the problem, struggling to explain why the room arrangement bothered her. The terseness of her message, 'Desk needs moving,' had sounded abrupt without communicating the difficulty.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See terse in use
Her terse reply gave the date and location without any explanation.
The team's terse label, 'Bring one item,' gave a short instruction without explaining the cafe's purpose or methods.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license