curt
adjective
rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner.
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Curv.
curt
1 American
[kurt]
/ kɜrt /
adjective
-
curter,
comparative
-
curtest
superlative
-
rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner.
-
brief; concise; terse; laconic.
-
short; shortened.
- Synonyms:
- abbreviated
Curt
2
American
[kurt]
/ kɜrt /
noun
curt
British
/ kɜːt /
adjective
-
rudely blunt and brief; abrupt
a curt reply
-
short or concise
Synonym Usage
See blunt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of curt
First recorded in 1620–30, curt is from the Latin word curtus “shortened, short, cut short”
Explanation
I’m sorry to be curt, but let's get right to the point. You should use the adjective curt to describe a way of speaking that’s brief and blunt. Curt often just means "terse." In fact it comes from the Latin word curtus, which means “cut short, abridged.” But sometimes it has the added sense of being rudely short, like when you’re irritated that someone’s asking a foolish question so you give a brusque, curt response.
Vocabulary lists containing curt
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 7
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List 8
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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.
See Examples For:
Wall Street is still getting familiar with Warsh’s curt style and dislike of providing forward guidance.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Calocane was described at this review as "guarded, curt, fixed staring and having a hostile edge to him".
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
A few unnecessarily curt speech interruptions threatened the calm, but mainly, this was a smoothly run machine of a show, devoid of mishaps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
This has been the case since the dawn of mobile devices and algorithmic personalization, but forced separations may have turned curt, unexplained goodbyes into a perceived relationship norm.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
I realized I sounded curt, but I couldn’t help it.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The proposed changes “would make it somewhat easier for mines to get permitted,” predicted Curt Shannon, interim director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, a nonprofit pushing for environmental oversight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Curt Menefee again is the host, with analysts Tom Amoss and Richard Migliore, plus handicappers Jonathan Kinchen and Chris Fallica, with other contributors such as Charissa Thompson and Tom Rinaldi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Delgado-Aparicio and Regan led the project with guidance from Curt Bolton of FES.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 3, 2026
His mother, Gloria James, supported him and advised James to listen to uncle Curt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
Anyone else would’ve laughed it off, but for Curt Lemon it was too much.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Karim gave a curt reply in Russian, which the soldier returned with an even curter retort.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Frederick was younger than the other men too; but his manner was, if anything, curter.
From The Happy End by Joseph Hergesheimer
He stood up, and made another bow, much curter than his former one.
From The Ivory Trail by Talbot Mundy
The woman’s voice was curter, and the uninviting muzzle of a bull-terrier was thrust out between the door and the woman’s skirts.
From Seven Miles to Arden by Ruth Sawyer
The knight began to take long walks and rides with his brother, and from each walk and ride came back with a more gloomy face and a curter manner.
From The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman
Luis Enrique thought for a couple of seconds, looked straight back at the questioner, and gave the curtest of replies.
From Fox News ● Jul. 5, 2021
He came from behind a sea of maps to grant the curtest interview I have ever had.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I don't know—I don't know that," said Ralph, rising with ill-concealed agitation, and stalking out of the room, without the curtest leave-taking.
From The Shadow of a Crime A Cumbrian Romance by Sir Hall Caine
The curtest historical sweep from then to now, shows how far the world has come.
From A Midsummer Drive Through the Pyrenees by Edwin Asa Dix
But compare this with the fact that the leading men in England at this very time were recognized only by the curtest of abbreviated names.
From Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature by Charles W. Bardsley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
