What does terse mean?
Word: Terse
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Terse means using very few words, often in a way that seems a little unfriendly.
Synonyms: brief, curt
Antonyms: wordy, long-winded
Word origin: Comes from Latin tersus, from tergere.
How do you spell terse?
Syllables: terse
Tricky part: The vowel sound could be spelt ir or ur, and students often guess one of those. It is er.
Watch out for: tirse, turse
Memory tip: Term and this word begin alike: both start with the same three letters, so ter is your opening.
Terse in a sentence
Example 1: Her terse reply made it clear that she was busy.
Example 2: The scorecard came with a terse note from the coach: Try harder.
Example 3: Telegrams were terse because every word cost money.
Fun Fact
When terse entered English about four hundred years ago, it meant polished and neat in style. The sense of short and sharp came later.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
ter__
a) sy
b) se
c) ze
d) ss
Show answer
b) se. The last two letters match those of purse.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with terse?
a) worse
b) reverse
c) nurse
d) horse
Show answer
d) horse. Horse has the vowel of door; worse, nurse and reverse all share the vowel of bird.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its opposite:
1. terse 2. tepid 3. timid a. rambling b. daring c. boiling
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. A rambling talk is the reverse of a terse one, boiling water the reverse of tepid water, and a daring child the reverse of a timid one.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
The editor's terse note asked the repoter to shorten the artical and check every name in the second paragrpah.
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 0
Show answer
c) 3. Reporter, article and paragraph are all misspelt; terse and editor's are fine.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. You can expect a terse email from a manager to be ___.
a) full of cheerful news
b) decorated with pictures
c) several long pages
d) a few short lines
Show answer
d) a few short lines
2. Why might a reader feel hurt by a terse reply?
a) it explains things too fully
b) it contains too many jokes
c) it repeats every point twice
d) it seems cold and abrupt
Show answer
d) it seems cold and abrupt
