Adjacent Words

Laconic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LACON'IC,
LACON'ICAL, a. [l. laconicus, from Laconia or Lacomes, the Spartans.]
1. Short; brief; pithy; sententious; expressing much in few words, after the manner of the Spartans; as a laconic phrase.
2. Pertaining to Sparta or Lacedemonia.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: brief and to the point; effectively cut short; "a crisp retort"; "a response so curt as to be almost rude"; "the laconic reply; `yes'"; "short and terse and easy to understand" [syn: crisp, curt, laconic, terse]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin laconicus Spartan, from Greek lak?nikos; from the Spartan reputation for terseness of speech Date: 1589 using or involving the use of a minimum of words ; concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious Synonyms: see concise • laconically adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 (of a style of speech or writing) brief; concise; terse. 2 (of a person) laconic in speech etc. Derivatives: laconically adv. laconicism n. Etymology: L f. Gk Lakonikos f. Lakon Spartan, the Spartans being known for their terse speech

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laconic La*con"ic, Laconical La*con"ic*al, a. [L. Laconicus Laconian, Gr. ??, fr. ?? a Laconian, Laced[ae]monian, or Spartan: cf. F. laconique.] 1. Expressing much in few words, after the manner of the Laconians or Spartans; brief and pithy; brusque; epigrammatic. In this sense laconic is the usual form. I grow laconic even beyond laconicism; for sometimes I return only yes, or no, to questionary or petitionary epistles of half a yard long. --Pope. His sense was strong and his style laconic. --Welwood. 2. Laconian; characteristic of, or like, the Spartans; hence, stern or severe; cruel; unflinching. His head had now felt the razor, his back the rod; all that laconical discipline pleased him well. --Bp. Hall. Syn: Short; brief; concise; succinct; sententious; pointed; pithy. Usage: Laconic, Concise. Concise means without irrelevant or superfluous matter; it is the opposite of diffuse. Laconic means concise with the additional quality of pithiness, sometimes of brusqueness.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laconic La*con"ic, n. Laconism. [Obs.] --Addison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe someone as laconic, you mean that they use very few words to say something, so that they seem casual or unfriendly. Usually so laconic in the office, Dr. Lahey seemed less guarded, more relaxed... ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a.; (also laconical) Short, brief, concise, succinct, compact, sententious, terse, pithy.

Foolish Dictionary

Shy on words. From Eng. lack, meaning want, and connection; want of connection.

Moby Thesaurus

Spartan, abbreviated, abridged, aposiopestic, brief, brusque, clipped, close, close-tongued, closemouthed, compact, compendious, compressed, concise, condensed, contracted, crisp, curt, cut, docked, dumb, economical of words, elliptic, epigrammatic, gnomic, indisposed to talk, mum, mute, pithy, pointed, pruned, quiet, reserved, sententious, short, short and sweet, shortened, silent, snug, sparing of words, speechless, succinct, summary, synopsized, taciturn, terse, tight, tight-lipped, to the point, tongue-tied, truncated, unloquacious, untalkative, word-bound, wordless