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.

The White House issued a terse statement, calling the purported MOU draft a "complete fabrication".

From BBC • May 28, 2026

Kay’s appeal was rejected in November 2023 in a terse four-page ruling by a federal court.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

This is a fitting characterization of any of these terse, disturbing novels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Designer Rob Janoff said that Apple cofounder Steve Jobs gave him one terse instruction when he commissioned a new logo in January 1977: "don't make it cute".

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Her comments could be terse, and sometimes funny.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Vocabulary lists containing terse

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