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terse

adjective
\ ˈtərs How to pronounce terse (audio) \
terser; tersest

Definition of terse

1 : using few words : devoid of superfluity a terse summary also : short, brusque dismissed me with a terse "no"
2 : smoothly elegant : polished
Other Words from terse Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about terse

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Other Words from terse

tersely adverb
terseness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for terse

concise, terse, succinct, laconic, summary, pithy, compendious mean very brief in statement or expression. concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative. a concise description terse implies pointed conciseness. a terse reply succinct implies the greatest possible compression. a succinct letter of resignation laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious. an aloof and laconic stranger summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation. a summary listing of the year's main events pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance. a comedy sharpened by pithy one-liners compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment. a compendious dictionary

Examples of terse in a Sentence

Everything about him is tidy, from his terse wit to the flecks of gray hair that fall in precise iterations around the edges of his scalp. — Devin Gordon, Newsweek, 29 July 2002 … Johnston stays bolted to the wheelhouse floor, wrestling the helm and jotting down notes in the ship log. His entries are terse, bullet descriptions of the unending chaos outside. — Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997 This vicious cycle was captured succinctly in Gandhi's terse warning that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. — David McCabe, Commonweal, 11 Apr. 1997 She accepts the caller's terse expression of sympathy and duly expresses in return her appreciation for that unenviable bit of message-bearing. — John Barth, Harper's, January 1994 She gave me a few terse instructions and promptly left the room. could tell from his terse replies to my questions that he was in no mood to talk
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Recent Examples on the Web

 In terse meetings with Republican lawmakers, Zuckerberg has seemingly pivoted from the Trending Topics fiasco and deemphasized the role of humans in its algorithmic moderation systems. — Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic, "Facebook Wants You to Focus on the Humans," 22 Aug. 2019 Faunce was terse with Spranger when the hearing started just after 2:20 p.m., saying the matter was on her docket for 1:30 p.m. — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, "Ex-Macomb Clerk Karen Spranger is late to court, judge threatens to jail her," 6 Aug. 2019 In a terse letter last week, state officials said the environmental project is at risk of violating key federal court orders that established deadlines after past ones were repeatedly missed. — Ralph Vartabedian, latimes.com, "Nation’s most ambitious project to clean up nuclear weapons waste has stalled at Hanford," 4 June 2019 Mueller’s terse testimony never directly accused Trump of a crime and did not offer any condemnation of his behavior beyond confirming details in his 448-page written report issued on April 18. — Los Angeles Times, "Mueller hearing watched by 13 million TV viewers," 25 July 2019 Dame’s lawsuit even reads like a story meant to be shared and digested, rather than a terse legal document meant to rapidly resolve a pressing violation of law. — Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge, "Sex toy company sues MTA over rejected ads," 18 June 2019 Instead of the terse epitaphs characteristic of Jewish tombstones today, the ones unearthed in Bitola contained rich descriptions and even poems about the deceased. — Cnaan Liphshiz, sun-sentinel.com, "In North Macedonia, unearthed headstones shed new light on community the Nazis destroyed," 9 July 2019 Just as a co-worker’s stress can spread to others via late-night emails and terse hallway exchanges, so too can a powerful colleague’s apparent apathy set off a disastrous chain reaction. — Sarah Todd, Quartz at Work, "Why it’s so dangerous when star employees check out," 2 July 2019 The company’s terse tweeted responses to impassioned pleas from its creators have left everyone mystified about what, if anything, the company stands for, aside from minimizing bad press. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Three ways YouTube could fight harassment," 6 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'terse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of terse

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 2

History and Etymology for terse

Latin tersus clean, neat, from past participle of tergēre to wipe off

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More Definitions for terse

terse

adjective
How to pronounce terse (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of terse

: brief and direct in a way that may seem rude or unfriendly

See the full definition for terse in the English Language Learners Dictionary

terse

adjective
\ ˈtərs How to pronounce terse (audio) \
terser; tersest

Kids Definition of terse

: being brief and to the point a terse statement

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