LACONIC

crisp, curt, laconic, terse

(adjective) brief and to the point; effectively cut short; “a crisp retort”; “a response so curt as to be almost rude”; “the laconic reply; ‘yes’”; “short and terse and easy to understand”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

laconic (comparative more laconic, superlative most laconic)

Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.

Synonyms

• concise, pithy, terse

Antonyms

• bombastic, long-winded, verbose, loquacious, prolix

Anagrams

• calcino, calocin, cloacin, colanic, conical

Source: Wiktionary


La*con"ic, La*con"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. Laconicus Laconian, Gr. laconique.]

1. Expressing much in few words, after the manner of the Laconians or Spartans; brief and pithy; brusque; epigrammatic. In this sense laconic is the usual form. I grow laconic even beyond laconicism; for sometimes I return only yes, or no, to questionary or petitionary epistles of half a yard long. Pope. His sense was strong and his style laconic. Welwood.

2. Laconian; characteristic of, or like, the Spartans; hence, stern or severe; cruel; unflinching. His head had now felt the razor, his back the rod; all that laconical discipline pleased him well. Bp. Hall.

Syn.

– Short; brief; concise; succinct; sententious; pointed; pithy.

– Laconic, Concise. Concise means without irrelevant or superfluous matter; it is the opposite of diffuse. Laconic means concise with the additional quality of pithiness, sometimes of brusqueness.

La*con"ic, n.

Definition: Laconism. [Obs.] Addison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 April 2025

ENCYCLOPEDIA

(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty


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Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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