terse
Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the pointOf speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
» He was always terse on the telephone.
Am Telefon war er immer kurz angebunden.
Meaning
3 senses(broadly)Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
knapp, markig, prägnant
ко́ваныйkóvanyj, кра́ткийkrátkij, немногосло́вныйnemnogoslóvnyj
стислийstyslyj, небагатослівнийnebahatoslivnyj
brief and to the point; effectively cut short
(broadly)Of manner or speech: abruptly or brusquely short; curt.
kurz angebunden, wortkarg
односло́жныйodnoslóžnyj
(obsolete)Burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce.
Examples
7 sentencesHe was always terse on the telephone.
deAm Telefon war er immer kurz angebunden.
Mary's email was very terse and it was clear that she was upset about something.
ruМэрино письмо было очень сжато, и было понятно, что она из-за чего-то расстроена.
deMarias E-Mail war recht kurz gefasst und es war klar, dass sie wegen irgendetwas verärgert war.
He received a letter from her, but inside were just a few cold, terse words.
deEr empfing einen Brief von ihr, aber darin standen nur ein paar knappe, kalte Worte.
He received a letter from her, but it was composed of just a few cold, terse words.
deEr empfing einen Brief von ihr, aber darin standen nur ein paar knappe, kalte Worte.
There is a fine line between speech that is terse and to the point and speech that is too abrupt.
deEs liegt ein feiner Grat zwischen Sprache, die knapp ist und auf den Punkt kommt, und Sprache, die zu schroff ist.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From Latin tersus (“clean, cleansed, rubbed or wiped off; neat, spruce; terse”), perfect pFrom Latin tersus (“clean, cleansed, rubbed or wiped off; neat, spruce; terse”), perfect passive participle of Latin tergeō, tergō (“to clean, cleanse, rub, wipe, wipe off”).
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Forms
terser, tersestSynonyms
16 synonymsAntonyms
10 antonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form