Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Expressing much in few words; clear and succinct.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Comprehending much in few words; brief and comprehensive in statement: as, a concise account of an event; a concise argument.
  • Synonyms Concise, Succinct, Condensed, Laconic, Summary, Compendious, short, terse, pithy, sententious, compact. The first four imply fullness of meaning as well as great brevity; the next two that the subject is treated by exhibiting only its main heads, and that therefore the treatment is comparatively brief. Concise frequently refers to style, and signifies the expression of much in few words; succinct is generally applied to the matter, the less important things being omitted: thus, a concise style or phrase, but a succinct narrative or account. Condensed relates more to the mode of treatment by which a matter is brought or compressed into a smaller space than it might have occupied. Laconic is applied to expressions which carry conciseness or brevity to an extreme. A summary account gives the principal points in the case; a compendious account is more sure than a summary account to give a complete and sufficient view of the subject.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Expressing much in a few words; condensed; brief and compacted; -- used of style in writing or speaking.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective brief, yet including all important information

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective expressing much in few words

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin concīsus, past participle of concīdere, to cut up : com-, intensive pref.; see com– + caedere, to cut; see kaə-id- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Late Latin concisus ("cut short"), from Latin concidere ("cut to pieces"), from caedere ("to cut, to strike down").

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Examples

  • The book also comes in concise and pocket editions, which are shorter but newer; i.e., they are not just abridged editions.

    In praise of a reference book: MWDEU 2009

  • The book also comes in concise and pocket editions, which are shorter but newer; i.e., they are not just abridged editions.

    March « 2009 « Sentence first 2009

  • Our Constitution is drafted in concise and general propositions, which is a foundation of its longevity.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Help Draft the Federalism Restoration Amendment 2010

  • Annie R. Leo, Leo, Leo, No! Great advice, and EVERYONE should read and digest this, but the REAL SECRET in learning to be concise is … well, let me add a historic lesson.

    Edit to Done: Revision and the Art of Being Concise | Write to Done 2008

  • The Director would have been well within his rights, and could not have been accused of discourtesy, if he had allowed a certain short, concise sentence at the left-hand corner of the official sheet of paper which he signed, to remain.

    The Castle Of The Shadows 1901

  • The material regarding H5N1, the historical aspect (1918), 'modern' concerns and home preparation are all included in short concise slides with ample graphics.

    Flu Wiki Forum - Front Page 2009

  • Finally, may be it is may fault to not understood clearly the meaning of the word concise in this product.

    Arif Widianto's Blog 2009

  • You'll find how-to videos marked "In Plain English" - concise but thorough blog posts about marketing technique and an entire group dedicated specifically to mastering search engine optimization.

    Ning Blog 2008

  • They're not generally more than four lines with varying rhyme schemes, and the only real requirement is that they're witty and concise, which is what I suppose what people who scrawl things in public spaces think they're being.

    The WritingYA Weblog: Poetry Friday: the Writing on the Wall tanita davis 2008

  • They're not generally more than four lines with varying rhyme schemes, and the only real requirement is that they're witty and concise, which is what I suppose what people who scrawl things in public spaces think they're being.

    Archive 2008-10-01 a. fortis 2008

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