Word
brevity
Phoneticsbrevi·ty
US/ˈbɹɛvəti/
UK/bɹˈɛvɪti/
Definition
n. the quality of being short and to the point. You use this to describe something that is concise and does not waste words.
n. the quality of being brief or concise in expression. Often used to describe the length of a speech, a piece of writing, or a period of time.
Examples
“The speaker praised the brevity of the report.”
“The professor appreciated the brevity of the student's answer, which addressed the main issue without unnecessary details.”
“In an era of information overload, the brevity of the message is often more valuable than its length, provided the core facts remain intact.”
Examples
simple
“The speaker praised the brevity of the report.”
contextual
“The professor appreciated the brevity of the student's answer, which addressed the main issue without unnecessary details.”
complex
“In an era of information overload, the brevity of the message is often more valuable than its length, provided the core facts remain intact.”
Real-World Examples
“For students now entering college, email may seem slow, clunky and old-fashioned, especially compared to texting, which allows for brevity and informality.” “The brevity of the counterexample made it easy for other mathematicians to verify .” Etymology
First attested in English in 1509; either: * Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or * from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/brevity