elliptical

elliptical

adjective

Definition of ELLIPTICAL

1

having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning <the poet's elliptical style is such that the reader often senses that an allusion is being made—but to what exactly?>

Synonyms ambiguous, arcane, cryptic, dark, deep, Delphic, double-edged, elliptical (or elliptic), enigmatic (also enigmatical), equivocal, fuliginous, inscrutable, murky, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, occult, opaque

Related Words abstruse, esoteric, recondite; cloaked, concealed, disguised, masked, shrouded; beclouded, bedimmed, befogged, clouded, cloudy, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, indistinguishable, misty, muddy, obfuscatory, obnubilated, obscurant (or obscurantic), shaded, shadowlike, shadowy, sphinxlike; indefinite, inexact, inexplicit, noncommittal, questionable, unclear, uncertain, undefined, undetermined, vague; impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable; eerie (also eery), uncanny, weird; impalpable, inappreciable, intangible, invisible; unanswerable, unknowable; baffling, bewildering, confounding, confusing, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling, unfathomable; circuitous, indirect, roundabout; complex, complicated, difficult, obtuse

Near Antonyms comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, knowable, legible, pellucid, understandable; bright, distinct, evident, self-evident, self-explanatory; certain, firm, strong, sure; defined, determined; direct, straightforward; definite, exact, explicit; appreciable, palpable, tangible, visible; blatant, patent, unmistakable

Antonyms accessible, clear, nonambiguous, obvious, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal

2

having the shape of an egg <the villa's marble pool is surrounded by an elliptic arrangement of ancient Greek statuary>

Synonyms elliptical (or elliptic), ovate, ovoid (also ovoidal)

3

marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning <his elliptical replies can seem rude to some people, but that's just his way>

Synonyms aphoristic, apothegmatic, brief, capsule, compact, compendious, crisp, curt, elliptical (or elliptic), epigrammatic, laconic, monosyllabic, pithy, sententious, succinct, summary, telegraphic, terse, thumbnail

Related Words abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), short, snippety, snippy; abbreviated, abridged, condensed, curtailed, shortened; meaty, substantial; meaningful, significant; well-turned

Near Antonyms pleonastic, redundant, repetitious, tautological, tautologous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; embellished, embroidered, exaggerated, inflated

Antonyms circuitous, circumlocutory, diffuse, long-winded, prolix, rambling, verbose, windy, wordy

Variants of ELLIPTICAL

elliptical or elliptic