compendious

[kuhm-pen-dee-uhs]

See more synonyms for compendious on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or like a compendium; containing the substance of a subject, often an exclusive subject, in a brief form; concise: a compendious history of the world.

Origin of compendious

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word compendiōsus. See compendium, -ous

Related formscom·pen·di·ous·ly, adverbcom·pen·di·ous·ness, nounun·com·pen·di·ous, adjective

Can be confusedcompendious voluminous

Synonyms for compendious

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

summary, comprehensive, succinct, packed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for compendious

brief, close, compact, comprehensive, concise, condensed, curt, inclusive, laconic, short, succinct, summary, abbreviated, contracted, synoptic

Examples from the Web for compendious

Contemporary Examples of compendious

David Frum on Allen Guelzo's compendious synthesis of new thinking about slavery and its aftermath.
David's Book Club: Fateful Lightning
David Frum
January 19, 2013

Historical Examples of compendious

Let us diligently follow that, and be compendious with the remainder.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XX. (of XXI.)
Thomas Carlyle
How does its beautiful simplicity also, and compendious brevity, give it rank before the laborious subtleties of Bellarmine!
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity.
William Wilberforce
Leibnitz gave a compendious statement of his system in his Monadology .
The Wonders of Life
Ernst Haeckel
A native restaurant in its simplest and most compendious shape.
Java, Facts and Fancies
Augusta de Wit
It will be sufficient to cite one notorious and compendious example.
What was the Gunpowder Plot?
John Gerard

British Dictionary definitions for compendious

compendious

adjective

containing or stating the essentials of a subject in a concise form; succinct

Derived Formscompendiously, adverbcompendiousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for compendious

adj.

"concise," late 14c., from Old French compendieux, from Latin compendiosus "advantageous, abridged, brief," from compendium (see compendium).