breviloquent

[bre-vil-uh-kwuhnt]

adjective

1. speaking or expressed in a concise or terse style; using brevity of speech.

   In the memorial to her family, references to her brother were tellingly breviloquent.

Other Word Forms

• breviloquence noun
• breviloquently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of breviloquent¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; brevi- ( def. ) + Latin loquent-, stem of loquēns, present participle of loquī “to speak”

Example Sentences

For the better part of 30 years, men’s shorts have been inching away from their own breviloquent description.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• brusque 
• concise 
• cryptic 
• curt 
• elliptical 
• incisive 
• laconic 
• pithy 
• precise 
• succinct 
• trenchant