terser; tersest
1
: using few words : devoid of superfluity
a terse summary
2
: smoothly elegant : polished
tersely
adverb
terseness
noun
Examples of terse in a Sentence
Everything about him is tidy, from his terse wit to the flecks of gray hair that fall in precise iterations around the edges of his scalp.
—
Devin Gordon, Newsweek, 29 July 2002
… Johnston stays bolted to the wheelhouse floor, wrestling the helm and jotting down notes in the ship log. His entries are terse, bullet descriptions of the unending chaos outside.
—Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997
This vicious cycle was captured succinctly in Gandhi's terse warning that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
—David McCabe, Commonweal, 11 Apr. 1997
She accepts the caller's terse expression of sympathy and duly expresses in return her appreciation for that unenviable bit of message-bearing.
—John Barth, Harper's, January 1994
She gave me a few terse instructions and promptly left the room.
could tell from his terse replies to my questions that he was in no mood to talk
Devin Gordon, Newsweek, 29 July 2002
… Johnston stays bolted to the wheelhouse floor, wrestling the helm and jotting down notes in the ship log. His entries are terse, bullet descriptions of the unending chaos outside.
—Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997
This vicious cycle was captured succinctly in Gandhi's terse warning that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
—David McCabe, Commonweal, 11 Apr. 1997
She accepts the caller's terse expression of sympathy and duly expresses in return her appreciation for that unenviable bit of message-bearing.
—John Barth, Harper's, January 1994
She gave me a few terse instructions and promptly left the room.
could tell from his terse replies to my questions that he was in no mood to talk
Recent Examples on the Web
In a terse statement confirming only the broad outlines of the incident, the Pentagon equated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government to a narco-trafficking cartel, allegations Caracas denies.
—Phil Stewart, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Throughout his 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots, Belichick became synonymous with brief, terse answers in press conferences and refusing to give reporters detailed information.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
His terse sendoff denies Dexter the satisfaction of closure and forgiveness, shattering his former colleague’s world before shuffling off it.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
The post-match exchange between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday at the US Open was a terse encounter but probably left many wondering what the big deal was that caused all the tension.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terse
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Phil Stewart, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Throughout his 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots, Belichick became synonymous with brief, terse answers in press conferences and refusing to give reporters detailed information.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
His terse sendoff denies Dexter the satisfaction of closure and forgiveness, shattering his former colleague’s world before shuffling off it.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
The post-match exchange between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday at the US Open was a terse encounter but probably left many wondering what the big deal was that caused all the tension.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terse
Cite this Entry
“Terse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terse. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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