telegraphic

adjective

tele·​graph·​ic ˌte-lə-ˈgra-fik How to pronounce telegraphic (audio)
1
: of or relating to the telegraph
2
telegraphically adverb

Examples of telegraphic in a Sentence

when dealing with her staff, she communicated mostly in telegraphic sentences and meaningful looks
Recent Examples on the Web Chan perused some 170 telegraphic code books, finally coming across a section about signals used by the US Army Signal Corps that were similar to the pages found in the antique silk dress. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2024 As a grad student, Blackburn began trying her hand at this telegraphic style of storytelling. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024 Woolery encourages a broad, telegraphic style in her actors, but Tousey, as Bobbie, operates from a stillness as foundational as that Manhattan schist. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2023 Readouts are highly telegraphic, and directly illuminated at night with soft, white light. Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 22 Feb. 2023 See all Example Sentences for telegraphic 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'telegraphic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of telegraphic was in 1794

Dictionary Entries Near telegraphic

Cite this Entry

“Telegraphic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telegraphic. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!