Succinct Meaning and Usage

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Meaning:

adjective

- brief, compact
- characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse:
a succinct reply; a succinct style.
- Tight, close-fitting, tightly wound around.

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Derivatives:

Succinctly – adverb
Succinctness – noun

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Synonyms:
laconic, pithy, brief, short, compressed, condensed, epigrammatic, concise, lean, terse, compendious, summary, compact, gnomic.

Antonyms:
lengthy, wordy, verbose, long-winded, prolix, frequently digressing.

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Use succinct in a sentence:

1. Your stand graphics and display must provide succinct, key information about the properties or programs that you are marketing.

2. It should be clear yet succinct whilst reflecting the purpose of your chosen area of research.

3. He prefers a succinct style of writing, one that gets to the point.

4. Her lustrous hair was wound around her head in succinct coils.

5. Cole’s eloquent and succinct essay on the power of positive thinking won first place in the essay contest.

6. Please aim to be succinct in the information you provide and keep the submission as brief as possible.

7. Fiona's succinct reply, 'Drop dead', left Mark with the impression that she simply was not interested in what he had to say.

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Origin:

Middle English succincte "girded" came directly from Old French which inherited it from Latin succinctus, the past participle of succingere "to gird from underneath". This verb is made from sub "under, below" + cingere "to gird". The semantic connection here is in tightening up; tightening up our speech and writing makes it more succinct. English later borrowed the Spanish derivation of this same stem, cincha "saddle girth", to refer to the belt that holds a saddle on a horse, the cinch (belt). Making the cinch tight guarantees the security of the saddle, hence the metaphorical meaning of cinch is "a sure thing".

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Some more examples:

1. It is necessary to keep the overall document succinct.

2. Her comments were succinct and to the point; the ceremony was brief.

3. The student council delivered a speech that was clear, succinct, and very effective.

4. Please state your case as succinctly as possible.

5. The speech was succinct yet emotional.

6. Usually, the most succinct definition is the right one.

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