adjective
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terse and full of meaning or substance
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of, resembling, or full of pith
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pithy
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at pith, -y 1
Explanation
A pithy phrase or statement is brief but full of substance and meaning. Proverbs and sayings are pithy; newspaper columnists give pithy advice. The root of this word is pith, which refers to the spongy tissue in plant stems, or the white part under the skin of citrus fruits. Pith is also used figuratively to refer to the essential part of something: They finally got to the pith of the discussion. Pith descends from Middle English, from Old English pitha "the pith of plants." In the adjective pithy, the suffix –y means "characterized by."
Vocabulary lists containing pithy
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Glass Castle
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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.
Pithy self-portrait photographs are among the most revealing works.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2019
Pithy storytelling, twang and a backbeat have defined Dwight Yoakam’s music throughout his career.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2018
I, for instance, am good at a lot of things that require intelligence: Pithy jokes, analyzing politics, explicating movies and TV shows, Mario Kart, bar trivia.
From Salon • May 12, 2016
Read More: Words of the Year: How a Pithy Tradition Began But this vote wasn’t really about that.
From Time • Jan. 8, 2016
Looking back, I try to find Chou and Pithy but cannot see them in the thick brush.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
