succinct implies the greatest possible compression.
a succinct letter of resignation
laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.
an aloof and laconic stranger
summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.
a summary listing of the year's main events
pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.
a comedy sharpened by pithy one-liners
compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.
a compendious dictionary
Examples of pithy in a Sentence
… Gore's prowess had been blurred by his performance in the Quayle debate and by his four preceding years in the Senate, where the prevailing style is indirect and woolly-swathed in layers of "my distinguished colleague" and short on zingers and pithy remarks.—James Fallows, Atlantic, July 2000I read my poems in L.A., chatted up the literary set, waxed pithy and beleaguered at the book signings and wine and cheese receptions.—Thomas Lynch, The Undertaking, 1997He does not hold forth to his family or to his court of old men; he listens, … then delivers short, pithy edicts that are then followed.—Guy Martin, Esquire, June 1997Unlike a great many other science books, the pithy, lyrical text never bogs down in a mudflat of facts.—Leonard S. Marcus, Parenting, December/January 1996
The critic gave the film a pithy review.
The book is filled with pithy sayings about love and loss.
a pithy little Mother's Day card
Recent Examples on the WebThe writing is alternately pithy and poignant, and certainly not afraid to turn on a dime, as Thoughts do.—Chris Willman, Variety, 28 June 2024 The relationship between trade and conflict has so many asterisks that it simply cannot be boiled down into anything pithy for officials, students, or anyone else to follow.—Stephen G. Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2024 Some of the night’s pithier exchanges took place during the deviations from scripted questions—including talk of U.S. trade relations and tensions with China.—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 Instead, Kitty fires off pithy defenses almost faster than Robb can muster questions, all in the most mid-Atlantic accent perhaps ever captured on film.—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pithy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pithy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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