laconism
Terse expression style
Laconism is the use of few words to express much—brevity pushed to an art form.
The term comes from Laconia, the region of ancient Greece where Spartans were famous for terse speech.
A laconism is also a specific instance of such brevity: His reply was a laconism: "If."
Quality of being brief
- tersenessExtreme brevity of expression
- pithinessTerse, meaningful expression
- concisenessQuality of being brief
- compactnessState of being compressed
ellipsis · curtness · monosyllabic · telegraphic · clipped · abridgment · condensation · synopsis
Habitual verbal restraint
- reserveSupply kept back
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- tight-lippedUnwilling to divulge
- uncommunicativeUnwilling to share thoughts
sparing · understated · restraint · quietude · few words · man of few words · strong silent type · stoic
Pithy, memorable saying
- maximBrief moral principle
- aphorismTerse general truth
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
- adageTraditional pithy truth
witticism · bon mot · quip · axiom · dictum · gnome · truism · saw
Ancient Greek city-state
- agogeGreek training regimen
- LeonidasAncient Spartan warrior-king
- ThermopylaeGreek coastal pass, ancient battle
- hopliteAncient Greek heavy infantry
phalanx · Peloponnesian · Hellenic · helot · austerity · discipline · warrior · martial
succinctness
Quality of being brief
- tersenessExtreme brevity of expression
- pithinessTerse, meaningful expression
- concisenessQuality of being brief
compactness · ellipsis · curtness · monosyllabic · telegraphic · clipped · abridgment · condensation · synopsis · economy
reticence
Habitual verbal restraint
- reserveSupply kept back
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- tight-lippedUnwilling to divulge
uncommunicative · sparing · understated · restraint · quietude · few words · man of few words · strong silent type · stoic · impassive
epigram
Pithy, memorable saying
adage · witticism · bon mot · quip · axiom · dictum · gnome · truism · saw · saying
Lacedaemon
Ancient Greek city-state
- agogeGreek training regimen
- LeonidasAncient Spartan warrior-king
- ThermopylaeGreek coastal pass, ancient battle
hoplite · phalanx · Peloponnesian · Hellenic · helot · austerity · discipline · warrior · martial · stoic
laconismverbosity
Unnecessary word excess
prolixity · wordiness · long-windedness · verboseness · loquacity
laconismgrandiloquence
Pompous, extravagant language
bombast · floridity · magniloquence · fustian · euphuism