so i am being quizzed tomorrow on vocabulary....and i have looked up these five words and see how they are used in sentences and their definitons..but i cannnot tell the difference between them...the words are....terse, pithy, succinct, laconic, and brevity...i know they all mean like "brief "to the point" "short" help!!!
2007-09-20 17:47:12 · 5 answers · asked by cutie 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
When asked how his first day of school was, Michael gave a terse, "fine" as his answer. (abrupt, rude maybe, concise)
Her pithy explanation left us with no confusion over how she felt about the issue. (to the point, brief but meaningful)
He was a man of few words but his succinct remarks gave us clear answers to our questions.
These three and the word laconic , in my opinion are interchangeable. They all mean the same thing and any one can be used in any of those sentences. They are each others definition.
Brevity however has more to do with state of being- as in the phrase the brevity of live- the shortness of the time of life- when one is terse, they are speaking with brevity- it is the quality of or state of being terse; brief; succinct, laconic . . .
2007-09-20 18:06:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
terse means 'to the point' like when you're in a hurry and someone is asking you a question. you give the least amount of info while still answering. you're not necessarily friendly, almost barely polite.
succinct means 'to the point' like as in a description. you don't rattle on in flowery detail you just tell the description.
pithy means (from thefreedictionary.com) precisely meaningful; forceful and brief, as in 'a pithy comment'
laconic is using few words. being concise.
brevity is 'short' like not lasting very long. hope some of this helped.
2007-09-20 18:06:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It hard to answer this question in a laconic sentence. I would like to be terse with my answer, but, I feel brevity would only compound your dilemma. But, just to be pithy, lookup the definition of succinct.
2007-09-20 17:58:03 · answer #3 · answered by Snaglefritz 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Terse - brief and unfriendly, often conveying annoyance.
Pithy - brief, yet forceful and to the point, often with an element of wit.
Succinct - expressed with brevity and clarity, with no wasted words.
Laconic - using very few words.
Brevity - use of few words.
all they words pretty much almost have the same definition. Hope this helps.
2007-09-20 18:03:19 · answer #4 · answered by Kilene 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i think of you have already figured it out, and anybody else has already suggested the suited phrases for me, yet in basic terms undergo in concepts that except this is a contraction of "you're" then this is often going to be "your", without exceptions. So if uncertain, question no remember in case you are attempting to declare "you're", in case you at the instant are not then this is often "your".
2016-11-06 00:29:41 · answer #5 · answered by hohl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋