Definitions

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

  • noun The state or quality of being concise.
  • noun Archaic A cutting apart or off.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A division; a schism; a faction; a sect; a separation.
  • noun [It is used in the Vulgate and in the authorized version of the Bible to translate the Greek word κατατομή, employed by St. Paul in Phil. iii. 2, apparently, instead of περιτομή, for circumcision, as a contemptuous designation of those Jews who relied upon the mere outward rite of circumcision.
  • noun Conciseness.

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

  • noun A cutting off; a division; a schism; a faction.

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

  • noun Conciseness, brevity or terseness.
  • noun A form of media censorship where discussions are limited in topics on the basis of broadcast time allotments.
  • noun A cutting off; a division; a schism or faction.

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

  • noun terseness and economy in writing and speaking achieved by expressing a great deal in just a few words

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

concise +‎ -ion (“the state of being”)

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Examples

  • · I hardly ever do bullet points – you know concision is not my greatest suit, and they seem to have made the formatting go crazy.

    Random Bullets « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • In 2009 I want to make a big effort to wrestle my posts back to a more reasonable length, concision is a virtue after all, and to make my style clearer and less intellectual.

    A Review and Resolutions « Tales from the Reading Room 2008

  • In 2009 I want to make a big effort to wrestle my posts back to a more reasonable length, concision is a virtue after all, and to make my style clearer and less intellectual.

    2008 December « Tales from the Reading Room 2008

  • "Her mode of expression is a disarmingly clear and accessible style, characterized by concision, rhyme, wordplay and wit," concluded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which each year chooses winners through a secretive process and does not accept nominations.

    SFGate: Don Asmussen: Bad Reporter Chronicle nasimov@sfchronicle.com (Nanette Asimov 2011

  • "Her mode of expression is a disarmingly clear and accessible style, characterized by concision, rhyme, wordplay and wit," concluded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which each year chooses winners through a secretive process and does not accept nominations.

    SFGate: Don Asmussen: Bad Reporter Chronicle nasimov@sfchronicle.com (Nanette Asimov 2011

  • "Road Movies" is also a masterpiece of concision, which is more than one could say for Penderecki's 1999 Violin Sonata.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2010

  • "Road Movies" is also a masterpiece of concision, which is more than one could say for Penderecki's 1999 Violin Sonata.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2010

  • "Road Movies" is also a masterpiece of concision, which is more than one could say for Penderecki's 1999 Violin Sonata.

    SFGate: Top News Stories Joshua Kosman 2010

  • "Road Movies" is also a masterpiece of concision, which is more than one could say for Penderecki's 1999 Violin Sonata.

    SFGate: Top News Stories Joshua Kosman 2010

  • Noam Chomsky summed up the difference better than anyone with his withering commentary on "concision" on television.

    Barry Eisler: Fictional Politics Barry Eisler 2010

Comments

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  • Article about concision and Twitter.

    April 2, 2009

  • "There was once an interview with Jeff Greenfield in which he was asked why I was never asked onto Nightline. He gave a good answer. He said the main reason was that I lacked concision. I had never heard that word before. You have to have concision. You have to say something brief between two commercials.

    What can you say that’s brief between two commercials? I can say Iran is a terrible state. I don’t need any evidence. I can say Ghaddaffi carries out terror. Suppose I try to say the US carries out terror, in fact it’s one of the leading terrorist states in the world. You can’t say that between commercials. People rightly want to know what do you mean. They’ve never heard that before. Then you have to explain. You have to give background. That’s exactly what’s cut out. Concision is a technique of propaganda. It ensures you cannot do anything except repeat clichés, the standard doctrine, or sound like a lunatic."

    - Noam Chomsky, 'Noam Chomsky on America's Economic Suicide', alternet.org, 4 May 2012

    May 5, 2012