| English Dictionary |
TERSE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does terse mean?
• TERSE (adjective)
The adjective TERSE has 1 sense:
1. brief and to the point; effectively cut short
Familiarity information: TERSE used as an adjective is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: tersest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Brief and to the point; effectively cut short
Synonyms:
Context example:
short and terse and easy to understand
Similar:
concise (expressing much in few words)
Derivation:
terseness (a neatly short and concise expressive style)
Context examples
It was short and terse, the warning, as I now read it to my companion: ‘The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life.’
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He whittled and listened, gave monosyllabic replies, and, when it was asked, terse advice.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
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