THE WORDCRAFT DEFINITION DICTIONARY
terseness
noun
Brevity of expression, sometimes to the point of abruptness.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
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Examples in context
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.
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Related meanings
Related words can differ in tone and context; they are not always interchangeable.
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The terse family
terseness is grouped under terse in the main dictionaries. This form keeps its meaning and previous study record.
terseadjective
Expressed in very few words, sometimes with an abrupt tone.
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.
About this entry
This entry is part of the vocabulary collection supplied by GlobalRPh. Definitions are concise study meanings. Examples combine original teaching sentences with selected passages adapted from the supplied study notes; their source is labeled beside each example. A word may have additional specialized or historical senses.
Adapted from supplied vocabulary notes. Example written for WordCraft.
Source study sections: B, 1, 12.
Dictionary scope and sources