Synonyms of compendious

compendious

adjective

kəm-ˈpen-dē-əs 

1

as in comprehensive

covering everything or all important points

her compendious knowledge of the monarch butterfly

Synonyms & Similar Words

• comprehensive
• thorough
• full
• extensive
• panoramic
• complete
• encyclopedic
• exhaustive
• inclusive
• global
• omnibus
• general
• universal
• all-embracing
• all-inclusive
• embracive
• broad-gauged
• in-depth
• vast
• broad
• broad-gauge
• cyclopedic
• cover-all
• large
• wide
• overall
• wide-ranging
• cosmical
• all-in
• far-reaching
• sweeping
• cosmic
• encyclical
• catholic
• inclusionary
• far
• indiscriminate
• panoptic
• unrestricted
• blanket
• grand

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• limited
• specialized
• narrow
• restricted
• precise
• specific
• exact
• individual
• circumscribed
• singular
• incomplete
• sketchy
• patchy

2

as in concise

marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning

a compendious summary of the referendum before the voters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• concise
• brief
• summary
• succinct
• pithy
• epigrammatic
• aphoristic
• sententious
• elliptic
• short
• telegraphic
• blunt
• laconic
• compact
• terse
• curt
• monosyllabic
• crisp
• condensed
• thumbnail
• capsule
• apothegmatic
• elliptical
• abrupt
• abbreviated
• shortened
• meaningful
• brusque
• abridged
• substantial
• curtailed
• brusk
• meaty
• significant
• snippety
• snippy
• well-turned

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prolix
• wordy
• circuitous
• verbose
• diffuse
• redundant
• rambling
• repetitious
• windy
• enlarged
• tautological
• long-winded
• exaggerated
• circumlocutory
• expanded
• tautologous
• supplemented
• pleonastic
• inflated
• embroidered
• embellished

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective compendious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of compendious are concise, laconic, pithy, succinct, summary, and terse. While all these words mean "very brief in statement or expression," compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.

a compendious dictionary

In what contexts can concise take the place of compendious?

The words concise and compendious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.

a concise description

When might laconic be a better fit than compendious?

The synonyms laconic and compendious are sometimes interchangeable, but laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.

an aloof and laconic stranger

How does the word pithy relate to other synonyms for compendious?

Pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.

a comedy sharpened by pithy one-liners

When is succinct a more appropriate choice than compendious?

In some situations, the words succinct and compendious are roughly equivalent. However, succinct implies the greatest possible compression.

a succinct letter of resignation

When can summary be used instead of compendious?

The meanings of summary and compendious largely overlap; however, summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.

a summary listing of the year's main events

When is it sensible to use terse instead of compendious?

Although the words terse and compendious have much in common, terse implies pointed conciseness.

a terse reply

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of compendious

In The Great Miscalculation: The Race to Save New York City’s Citicorp Tower (New York University Press, $27.95), Michael M. Greenburg goes into compendious detail about the debacle. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025

The curious thing about this compendious, scrupulously researched biography, so rich in basketball and cultural lore, is that the best parts are not about basketball at all. —Thomas Beller, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2023

Although employment has begun to recover, the need to create jobs has prompted several Indian states to suspend many of the country’s compendious labour regulations. —The Economist, 27 June 2020

Another documents the founding in 1974 — by Joan Nestle, Deborah Edel, Sahli Cavallaro, Pamela Olin and Julia Stanley — of a compendious and still-growing register of lesbian culture called the Herstory Archives. —Julianne McShane, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2019

Nonetheless, astronomers and astrophysicists came together to write a single compendious paper about the event. —Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 16 Oct. 2017

Each event centered on performances of a supreme, compendious Bach masterpiece. —James R. Oestreich, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2017

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