as in concision
the quality or state of being marked by or using only few words to convey much meaning
the compactness of his prose requires a close, careful reading
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Recent Examples of compactness
Maps would prioritize population equality, compactness, contiguity, and communities of interest, with no favoritism toward incumbents.
—
Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
In addition to their defensive compactness — which forces opponents into low-quality shots — flexibility and impressive individual performances, Sunderland’s wide combinations are a major reason for their success this season.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Attribute this to the show’s wonderful compactness, or to tired feet, but the behavior was unusual—people swooping toward a painting, sitting down again, returning a minute later to develop a thought or a feeling.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Today’s open-source tool kits can generate millions of legally compliant plans and optimize for different fairness goals (compactness, competitiveness, minority opportunity, county splits, partisan bias).
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
While Mars has terrain that’s varied in terms of composition, elevation, and dustiness versus compactness, one vastly underappreciated aspect is how different the Martian soil composition is from Earth’s.
—Big Think, 6 Nov. 2025
The 10 tracks come in at a relatively austere 39 minutes, and Van Halen says that compactness was both organic and intentional.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025
Boundaries should emphasize factors such as compactness of the district, contiguous neighborhoods, preservation of communities of interest and substantially equal populations.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
With dimensions of 790 x 614 x 856 mm and weighing 62 kg, RB-WATCHER strikes a balance between compactness and power.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 July 2023
Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
In addition to their defensive compactness — which forces opponents into low-quality shots — flexibility and impressive individual performances, Sunderland’s wide combinations are a major reason for their success this season.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Attribute this to the show’s wonderful compactness, or to tired feet, but the behavior was unusual—people swooping toward a painting, sitting down again, returning a minute later to develop a thought or a feeling.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Today’s open-source tool kits can generate millions of legally compliant plans and optimize for different fairness goals (compactness, competitiveness, minority opportunity, county splits, partisan bias).
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
While Mars has terrain that’s varied in terms of composition, elevation, and dustiness versus compactness, one vastly underappreciated aspect is how different the Martian soil composition is from Earth’s.
—Big Think, 6 Nov. 2025
The 10 tracks come in at a relatively austere 39 minutes, and Van Halen says that compactness was both organic and intentional.
—Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025
Boundaries should emphasize factors such as compactness of the district, contiguous neighborhoods, preservation of communities of interest and substantially equal populations.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
With dimensions of 790 x 614 x 856 mm and weighing 62 kg, RB-WATCHER strikes a balance between compactness and power.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compactness
Noun
-
This interview was condensed and edited for concision and clarity.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Their responses have been edited for clarity and concision.—
Matthew Odam,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.—
Mary Divine,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
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The conciseness, the visual satisfaction, and the crucial interplay between image and word makes reading a good graphic novel—or, in this case, graphic memoir—an electrifying, transporting experience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
How much of his life, his desperate desire for success, greatness, had been prompted by his shortness?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Mar. 2026
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The team’s mean average height is 6-foot-4 due to the notable shortness of main rotation guards Tre Jones (6-foot-1) and Rob Dillingham (6-foot-2) and two-way guards Yuki Kawamura (5-foot-7) and Mac McClung (6-foot-2).—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Compactness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compactness. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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