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, obscure (or elliptic), enigmatic (also enigmatical), equivocal, fuliginous, inscrutable, murky, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, occult, opaqueRelated 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, obtuseNear 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, unmistakableAntonyms 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 oval (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, concise (or elliptic), epigrammatic, laconic, monosyllabic, pithy, sententious, succinct, summary, telegraphic, terse, thumbnailRelated Words abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), short, snippety, snippy; abbreviated, abridged, condensed, curtailed, shortened; meaty, substantial; meaningful, significant; well-turnedNear Antonyms pleonastic, redundant, repetitious, tautological, tautologous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; embellished, embroidered, exaggerated, inflatedAntonyms circuitous, circumlocutory, diffuse, long-winded, prolix, rambling, verbose, windy, wordy