Definition of BREVITY (original) (raw)
: shortness of duration
especially : shortness or conciseness of expression
Synonyms
Examples of brevity in a Sentence
Mike Espy resigned under pressure as Secretary of Agriculture yesterday at a news conference remarkable for its brevity and general absence of whining. —
New York Times, 4 Oct. 1994 Lincoln was able to achieve the loftiness, ideality, and brevity of the Gettysburg Address because he had spent a good part of the 1850s repeatedly relating all the most sensitive issues of the day to the Declaration's supreme principle. —Garry Wills, Lincoln At Gettysburg, 1992 The book's brevity is its major defect. Admittedly, readers of military history have been smothered by portentous tomes of a thousand pages or more. But 365 pages are too few to tell the Normandy story. —Drew Middleton, New York Times Book Review, 15 Aug. 1982 "Maudie, I'm sure I don't know what you mean," said Mrs. Merriweather. "I'm sure you do," Miss Maudie said shortly. She said no more. When Miss Maudie was angry, her brevity was icy. —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
The book's major flaw is its brevity. the best quality a graduation speech can have is brevity
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And the brevity of the special session doesn’t give lawmakers time to analyze and debate the 75-page bill sufficiently. —Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2025 As Kennedy and Roosevelt demonstrated, brevity, clarity, simplicity and emotional resonance create messages that stand the test of time. —Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025 Frances Ha Year: 2012 Run Time: 86 minutes Director: Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach is the king of brevity. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025 TikTok videos’ brevity only adds to this problem; the short, headline-grabbing content that goes the most viral is largely devoid of context and nuance, seemingly designed to distract and anger us further. —Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for brevity 
Word History
Etymology
Latin brevitas, from brevis — see breve
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of brevity was in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near brevity
Cite this Entry
“Brevity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brevity. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 12 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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