Word of the Day

: February 21, 2026

laconic

adjective luh-KAH-nik

What It Means

Laconic describes someone or something communicating with few words. Laconic can more narrowly mean "concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious."

// The stand-up comedian is known for his laconic wit and mastery of the one-liner.

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laconic in Context

"Elijah did not enjoy all my choices. ... But my son listened closely to every selection. He remembered plot points better than I did and assessed historical figures concisely. 'Mean,' he said of Voltaire. 'Creepy,' summed up Alexander Hamilton. ... Most surprising, my laconic teenager shared my love of Austen. Those hours listening to Pride and Prejudice were some of the happiest of my parenting life." — Allegra Goodman, LitHub.com, 4 Feb. 2025

Did You Know?

We'll keep it brief. Laconia was once an ancient province in southern Greece. Its capital city was Sparta, and the Spartans were famous for their terseness of speech. Laconic comes to us by way of the Latin word laconicus ("Spartan") from the Greek word lakōnikos. In current use, laconic means "terse" or "concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious," and thus recalls the Spartans' tight-lipped taciturnity.