Vocabulary in context
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Brevity
The quality of being brief or concise; shortness of duration or expression.
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Imagine This
The basic technique of brewing good tea is to brew the tea in a preheated teapot with very hot boiling water for a short time. Otherwise, the tea will taste bitter.
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Sounds Like
BREV-i-tee
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Looks Like
Brief (a short time; momentary)
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Remember This
Brevity derives from the Latin brevitās meaning shortness; in writing, it values concise, impactful expression as opposed to wordiness.
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Other Forms
briefadjective
briefnessnoun
brieflyadverb
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Connect With
conciseness, succinctness, terseness, pithiness, laconicity
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Note
In SAT-worthy writing, brevity means saying what is essential with clarity. Avoid sacrificing meaning for length; aim for concise, precise language. Don't confuse 'brevity' with merely being abrupt.
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The mayor's speech won praise for its brevity.
- Editors favor brevity in articles to retain readers' attention.
Synonyms
concisenesssuccinctnesstersepithinesscompactness
Antonyms
verbositywordinesslong-windedness
Etymology
From Latin brevitās, meaning shortness, from brevis 'short' + -tās; borrowed into English via Old French.
Mnemonic
Remember the Shakespeare line 'Brevity is the soul of wit' to recall that brevity means concise expression.
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Advantageous
adjectiveProviding an advantage; favorable or beneficial in a given situation.
Retain
verbTo keep possession of something; to continue to have or remember something; to hire or engage a professional service.
Heterogeneous
adjectiveDescribing a mixture or group that is composed of unlike parts; not uniform or homogeneous throughout.
Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Abasement
nounThe act or instance of humiliating or degrading someone; the state of being lowered in dignity or status.
Absurdity
nounThe quality or state of being wildly unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous; something that is completely contrary to reason or common sense.
Accent
nounA distinctive way of pronouncing words; the act of emphasizing a syllable or word (as a verb, to accent means to emphasize).
Accolade
nounAn honor; a public expression of praise or an award.
Acrimony
nounBitterness of speech or manner; ill feeling
Acronym
nounA word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, pronounced as a single word and used as a shorthand for the full name (for example, NASA or radar).
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