compendious
adjective
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Compendious comes from Latin compendium, meaning "saving," "shortcut," and, in its most literal sense, "that which is weighed together." Compendium has its source in the Latin verb compendere, meaning "to weigh together."
Synonyms
- all-embracing
- all-in [chiefly British]
- all-inclusive
- broad-gauge
- broad-gauged
- complete
- comprehensive
- cover-all
- cyclopedic
- embracive
- encyclopedic
- exhaustive
- full
- global
- in-depth
- inclusive
- omnibus
- panoramic
- thorough
- universal
Example Sentences
The Economist, 27 June 2020 Another documents the founding in 1974 — by Joan Nestle, Deborah Edel, Sahli Cavallaro, Pamela Olin and Julia Stanley — of a compendious and still-growing register of lesbian culture called the Herstory Archives. Julianne Mcshane, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2019 Nonetheless, astronomers and astrophysicists came together to write a single compendious paper about the event. Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 16 Oct. 2017 Each event centered on performances of a supreme, compendious Bach masterpiece. James R. Oestreich, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2017 Word History
14th century, in the meaning defined above
compendious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- comprehensive
- thorough
- extensive
- full
- panoramic
- encyclopedic
- complete
- exhaustive
- inclusive
- embracive
- omnibus
- global
- all-embracing
- general
- universal
- in-depth
- vast
- broad-gauged
- cyclopedic
- broad
- broad-gauge
- cover-all
- all-inclusive
- large
- wide
- overall
- panoptic
- sweeping
- all-in
- cosmic
- wide-ranging
- catholic
- encyclical
- far
- cosmical
- inclusionary
- indiscriminate
- far-reaching
- unrestricted
- blanket
- grand
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- limited
- specialized
- precise
- narrow
- restricted
- specific
- circumscribed
- exact
- singular
- individual
- incomplete
- sketchy
- patchy
Synonyms & Similar Words
- concise
- brief
- summary
- succinct
- pithy
- sententious
- epigrammatic
- aphoristic
- short
- laconic
- telegraphic
- blunt
- compact
- terse
- curt
- condensed
- monosyllabic
- crisp
- apothegmatic
- capsule
- thumbnail
- elliptic
- shortened
- abbreviated
- abrupt
- elliptical
- abridged
- brusque
- meaningful
- substantial
- snippety
- curtailed
- meaty
- brusk
- significant
- snippy
- well-turned
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- prolix
- wordy
- verbose
- circuitous
- circumlocutory
- rambling
- redundant
- diffuse
- repetitious
- tautological
- tautologous
- enlarged
- pleonastic
- windy
- long-winded
- exaggerated
- expanded
- supplemented
- inflated
- embroidered
- embellished
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of compendious are concise, laconic, pithy, succinct, summary, and terse. While all these words mean "very brief in statement or expression," compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.
The words concise and compendious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.
The synonyms laconic and compendious are sometimes interchangeable, but laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.
Pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.
In some situations, the words succinct and compendious are roughly equivalent. However, succinct implies the greatest possible compression.
The meanings of summary and compendious largely overlap; however, summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.
Although the words terse and compendious have much in common, terse implies pointed conciseness.