laconic

Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (1)

brief and to the point; effectively cut short“a crisp retort”“a response so curt as to be almost rude”“the laconic reply; `yes'”“short and terse and easy to understand”Synonyms: crisp curt terse

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Laconic \La*con"ic\, Laconical \La*con"ic*al\, a. [L. Laconicus Laconian, Gr. ??, fr. ?? a Laconian, Laced[ae]monian, or Spartan: cf. F. laconique.]

1.Expressing much in few words, after the manner of the Laconians or Spartans; brief and pithy; concise; brusque; epigrammatic. In this sense laconic is the usual form. [1913 Webster]

I grow laconic even beyond laconicism; for sometimes I return only yes, or no, to questionary or petitionary epistles of half a yard long.— Pope.[1913 Webster]

His sense was strong and his style laconic.— Welwood.[1913 Webster]

2.Laconian; characteristic of, or like, the Spartans; hence, stern or severe; cruel; unflinching. [1913 Webster]

His head had now felt the razor, his back the rod; all that laconical discipline pleased him well.— Bp. Hall.

Syn: Short; brief; concise; succinct; sententious; pointed; pithy.

Usage: Laconic, Concise. Concise means without irrelevant or superfluous matter; it is the opposite of diffuse. Laconic means concise with the additional quality of pithiness, sometimes of brusqueness. [1913 Webster]

Laconic \La*con"ic\, n. Laconism. [Obs.] --Addison. [1913 Webster]