terse
Americanadjective
-
neatly or effectively concise; brief and pithy, as language.
- Synonyms:
- compendious, epigrammatic, brief, compact, succinct
adjective
-
neatly brief and concise
-
curt; abrupt
Synonym Usage
See concise.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of terse
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin tersus, past participle of tergēre “to rub off, wipe off, clean, polish”
Explanation
Terse means brief, or using very few words. If your teacher tells you to make your writing in your essay style terse and to the point, he's saying use as few words as you can and be simple and clear. A terse reply or command may seem rude or unfriendly—but the word terse itself doesn't mean unfriendly or rude. Synonyms are succinct or concise, though these words have a more positive tone. The adjective terse is from Latin tersus "clean, neat," from tergere "to rub off, wipe, polish." Polished language is neatly concise.
Vocabulary lists containing terse
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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.
Terse rulings on emergency applications are not new.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2020
Terse, heavy statement right there from the Academy.
From The Guardian • Oct. 15, 2017
Terse as they are, these documents can also make extremely emotional reading, Siekman and Morgan say.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2016
Terse but pensive, she said, “You don’t know the whole story, you haven’t seen the evidence. Ya know, whether you like it or not, cops are innocent until proven guilty too.”
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2015
“That's it. We are a terse people. Terse, and also hungry.”
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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.
