TERSELY

telegraphically, tersely

(adverb) in a short and concise manner; “a particular bird, exactly and tersely described in the book of birds”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

tersely (comparative more tersely, superlative most tersely)

In a brief, concise, or to the point manner.

Synonyms

• concisely

Antonyms

• verbosely

Anagrams

• Esterly, restyle

Source: Wiktionary


TERSE

Terse, a. [Compar. Terser; superl. Tersest.] Etym: [L. tersus, p.p. of tergere to rub or wipe off.]

1. Appearing as if rubbed or wiped off; rubbed; smooth; polished. [Obs.] Many stones, . . . although terse and smooth, have not this power attractive. Sir T. Browne.

2. Refined; accomplished; -- said of persons. [R. & Obs.] "Your polite and terse gallants." Massinger.

3. Elegantly concise; free of superfluous words; polished to smoothness; as, terse language; a terse style. Terse, luminous, and dignified eloquence. Macaulay. A poet, too, was there, whose verse Was tender, musical, and terse. Longfellow.

Syn.

– Neat; concise; compact. Terse, Concise. Terse was defined by Johnson "cleanly written", i. e., free from blemishes, neat or smooth. Its present sense is "free from excrescences," and hence, compact, with smoothness, grace, or elegance, as in the following lones of Whitehead: - "In eight terse lines has Phædrus told (So frugal were the bards of old) A tale of goats; and closed with grace, Plan, moral, all, in that short space." It differs from concise in not implying, perhaps, quite as much condensation, but chiefly in the additional idea of "grace or elegance." -- Terse"ly, adv.

– Terse"ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

9 March 2025

CLOG

(verb) fill to excess so that function is impaired; “Fear clogged her mind”; “The story was clogged with too many details”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. When coffee berries turn from green to bright red – indicating ripeness – they are picked, processed, and dried. Dried coffee seeds are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor.

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