Brevity Meaning
/ˈbɹɛvɪti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe quality of being brief in duration.
nounSuccinctness; conciseness.
Sentence Examples
Brevity is the soul of wit.
In the brevity lies the power.
Brevity will help you to be understood by others.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of his speech surprised the audience who expected a long lecture.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He was known for the ____ of his speeches, and always kept them short.
Word Origin & History
First attested in English in 1509; either: * Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or * from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thanks to Global Positioning Systems we can see that Europe and North America are parting at about the speed a fingernail grows—roughly two yards in a human lifetime. If you were prepared to wait long enough, you could ride from Los Angeles all the way up to San Francisco. It is only the brevity of lifetimes that keeps us from appreciating the changes."
— 2005, Bill Bryson, A short history of nearly everything:
"[B]revity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes[.]"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
"Whenever a public question comes to such a crisis that the opportunities for individual intervention are reduced to the smallest possible compass, Mr. Roebuck is sure to step in with a formula, summing up the case with indignant brevity, censuring somebody, or panegyrizing somebody."
— 1856 June 14, “Head and Tail”, in The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art, volume 2, number 33, London: John W. Parker and Son, page 142:
"A good technical writing style will now be defined as a style possessing clarity, brevity, and variety."
— 1966, Jackson E. Morris, Principles of scientific and technical writing:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of his speech surprised the audience who expected a long lecture.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He was known for the ____ of his speeches, and always kept them short.