laconic
adjective
la·con·ic
lə-ˈkä-nik 
: using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
Did you know?
We’ll keep it brief. Laconia was an ancient country in southern Greece. Its capital city was Sparta, and the Spartans were famous for their terseness of speech. Laconic comes to us by way of Latin from Greek Lakōnikos, meaning “native of Laconia.” In current use, laconic means “terse” or “concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious,” and thus recalls the Spartans’ taciturnity.
Synonyms
Examples of laconic in a Sentence
We would rather have a smiling, shape-shifting Democrat we don't trust than a frowning, laconic Republican we trust more.
—
Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 10 Oct. 1996
The closest anyone comes to announcing his destination is a laconic "Guess I'll head on in."
—Richard Rhodes, The Inland Ground, 1991
… towards the father—laconic, authoritarian, remote, an immigrant who'd trained in Galicia to be a rabbi but worked in America in a hat factory—their feelings were more confused.
—Philip Roth, Granta 24, Summer 1988
He had a reputation for being laconic.
the sportscaster's color commentary tends to be laconic but very much to the point
Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 10 Oct. 1996
The closest anyone comes to announcing his destination is a laconic "Guess I'll head on in."
—Richard Rhodes, The Inland Ground, 1991
… towards the father—laconic, authoritarian, remote, an immigrant who'd trained in Galicia to be a rabbi but worked in America in a hat factory—their feelings were more confused.
—Philip Roth, Granta 24, Summer 1988
He had a reputation for being laconic.
the sportscaster's color commentary tends to be laconic but very much to the point
Recent Examples on the Web
Audiences have often struggled with his oddball and laconic tendencies, and The Return only gave people more to complain about, what with its dense mysteries that veered far from the coffee-and-donuts shenanigans of its network-TV run.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
Cheung, for instance, lends her invaluable comedic timing to a laconic factory worker and then is brittle and heartbreaking as a mother mourning a tech-wiz daughter.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2025
The film’s honesty, whether loquacious or laconic, sears even more in the absence of a score.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
Serving as an introduction to an engaging new artistic voice, the film captures a certain laconic, free-floating malaise and anxiety that are indicative of an emergent generational sensibility.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for laconic 
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.
K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
Cheung, for instance, lends her invaluable comedic timing to a laconic factory worker and then is brittle and heartbreaking as a mother mourning a tech-wiz daughter.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2025
The film’s honesty, whether loquacious or laconic, sears even more in the absence of a score.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
Serving as an introduction to an engaging new artistic voice, the film captures a certain laconic, free-floating malaise and anxiety that are indicative of an emergent generational sensibility.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for laconic
Articles Related to laconic
Dictionary Entries Near laconic
Cite this Entry
“Laconic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laconic. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share