BREVITY


Meaning of BREVITY in English

/brev"i tee/ , n.

1. shortness of time or duration; briefness: the brevity of human life.

2. the quality of expressing much in few words; terseness: Brevity is the soul of wit.

[ 1500-10; brevite, OF brievete. See BRIEF, -ITY ]

Syn. 2. compactness, succinctness, pithiness. BREVITY, CONCISENESS refer to the use of few words in speaking. BREVITY emphasizes the short duration of speech: reduced to extreme brevity. CONCISENESS emphasizes compactness of expression: clear in spite of great conciseness.

Ant. 1, 2. length.

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .