Brevity
What it means
Effective expression using few words or little time.
Reach for it when praising short communication that retains what matters
The editor valued brevity in every emergency notice.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| professional |
|
| formal |
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playful
pithiness
Fits when short expression also has force and substance
Careful Pithiness can sound clever or slogan-like when sober clarity matters.
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professional
compactness
Fits when information occupies little space while retaining structure
Careful Compactness may produce density rather than clarity.
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professional
economy
Fits when nothing unnecessary remains in style or design
Careful Economy can refer to money and may make the sentence ambiguous.
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formal
concision
Fits when economical wording preserves meaning and structure
Careful Concision applies mainly to expression, not duration.
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formal
succinctness
Fits when a complete idea is expressed compactly
Careful Succinctness is technical-sounding and awkward for an event's short length.
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formal
terseness
Fits when extreme shortness and abruptness are factual
Careful Terseness often sounds unfriendly, unlike skillful brevity.
Opposites 3
- verbosity
- long-windedness
- prolixity
Common phrases 3
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for the sake of brevity
For the sake of brevity, the notice links to the full procedure.
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admirable brevity
The chair closed the meeting with admirable brevity.
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brevity and clarity
Brevity and clarity matter equally in an evacuation message.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Steve Shives, Maryland accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated