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tersely

/ˈtɜrsli/
IPA guide

When you make a point without using very many words, you do it tersely. You could offer a long explanation for why you won't take your brother trick-or-treating — or answer tersely by saying "No."

Tersely is from the adjective terse, which means "concise" but was originally defined as "clean-cut," from a root meaning "neat or clean." When you speak tersely, you do keep things tidy, using no extra words. In fact, something stated tersely can be so short and pithy that it can come across as brusque, or a little bit rude. Imagine asking a barista for more foam on your cappuccino and hearing them tersely reply, "Nope."

Definitions of tersely
  1. adverb
    in a short and concise manner
    “a particular bird, exactly and tersely described in the book of birds”
    synonyms: telegraphically
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