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:
"Immediately, it was as if we were wasting this doctor's time and he was quite curt with Meg," Helen said.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 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
Her curt weekly directive was to take one from the pile and stick it in wrapping paper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Matthias rapped out a curt command, “Leave us, mice. Go back to your duties on the wall.”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
National championship-winning Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti will drive the honorary pace car.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Curt Sampson’s book doesn’t look to burnish the institution: It provides a forensic examination of Augusta National’s past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 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
Curt Lemon steps from the shade into bright sunlight, his face brown and shining, and then he soars into a tree.
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
And he became curter and curter, as he noticed the new deference which even Clara practised towards him.
From Clayhanger by Bennett, Arnold
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 Sawyer, Ruth
"See here, Mr. Jarnock," I said, perhaps rather curter than I should have done, considering what I had to say.
From Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by Hodgson, William Hope
Maybe the possessive form of address: "Mon general," "mon capitaine," helps the idea, which our men cloke in other and curter phrases.
From France at War On the Frontier of Civilization by Kipling, Rudyard
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
They replied with the curtest of nods, and I attended them from the house.
From First Person Paramount by Pratt, Ambrose
The Dauphin had already mounted when La Mothe and Villon crossed the roadway with their horses following, led by drunken Michel's substitute, and his greeting to both was of the curtest.
From The Justice of the King by Drummond, Hamilton
If they enquired how he had fared he growled the curtest of answers, and showed plainly that their polite interest in his doings was not desired by him.
From Maid of the Mist by Oxenham, John
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.
