terse

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terse

/tɜːs/ UK
/təːs/ British, Southern, Standard
/tɛɾs/ Scotland, UK
/tøːs/ UK, Wales
/teːs/ UK
/tɛːs/ UK
/tɝs/ Canada, US
/tɜːs/ Australia
/tøːs/ New Zealand

Sounds like terce · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)s

Where it comes from

From 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”).

adjective terser · tersest

broadly Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point. In eight terse lines has Phædrus told / (So frugal were the Bards of old) / A Tale of Goats; and clos'd with grace / Plan, Moral, all, in that ſhort space.
Similar: concise, succinct, brief, crisp, laconic, lapidary, short-winded, tight, to the point, taut, terse · Opposite: prolix, verbose, wordy, circumlocutory, diffuse, periphrastic, palaverous, pleonastic, rigmarole, sesquipedalian
broadly Of manner or speech: abruptly or brusquely short; curt. 'Laura!' The voice halting her was terse. Brusque. She turned. [...] 'Before I go,' he said, and his voice was terse, tighter than ever. 'I want to ensure you understand something.'
Similar: abrupt, brusque, mardy, short-spoken
obsolete Burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce. By Phœbus, here's a moſt neate fine ſtreete; is't not? I proteſt to thee, I am enamord of this ſtreete now, more then of halfe the ſtreetes of Rome, againe; tis ſo polite, and terſe; [...]

Translations

Every language

adj brief, concise, to the point — see also brief, concise

Español	conciso, lacónico, parco, escueto, sucinto, terso
日本語	簡明な kanmei na
中文	簡 /简 jiǎn, 簡短 /简短 jiǎnduǎn, 簡潔 /简洁 jiǎnjié, 簡明 /简明 jiǎnmíng, 精練 /精练 jīngliàn, 緊湊 /紧凑 jǐncòu
Português	conciso
Français	laconique
Deutsch	knapp, markig, prägnant
Italiano	asciutto, essenziale, laconico, scabro, stringato, sintetico
Ελληνικά	λακωνικός lakonikós, λιτός litós
Русский	ко́ваный kóvanyj, кра́ткий krátkij, немногосло́вный nemnogoslóvnyj, лакони́чный lakoníčnyj
עברית	לקוני

adj abruptly or brusquely short

Español	brusco, lacónico, cortante, seco, escueto, telegráfico
日本語	ぶっきらぼうな bukkirabō na
Português	breve, curto, direto, lacónico, resumido, sucinto
Français	laconique, lapidaire
Deutsch	kurz angebunden, wortkarg
Ελληνικά	απότομος apótomos
Русский	односло́жный odnoslóžnyj
Tiếng Việt	cộc lốc

adj burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce

Español	terso

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Cite this

MLA

"terse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/terse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

terse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/terse

Chicago

"terse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/terse.

BibTeX

@misc{terse_2026,
  title = {terse},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/terse},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}