Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BREVITY

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: I'll be brief. :) In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius says that brevity is the soul of wit. Then he fails to be brief, rambling on and on, sent____ously: in a stuffy, showy, moralizing way. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "BREVITY" Brief things are short, quick, or concise (using very few words). And brevity is shortness, quickness, or conciseness (the quality of using very few words). Pronunciation: BREV ih tee Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "advice," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of advice," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many advices." Likewise, talk about "the brevity," "this brevity," "its brevity," "such brevity," "no brevity," and so on, but don’t say "a brevity," "one brevity," or "brevities.") Other forms: none How to use it: "Brevity" is one of those simple, lovely words we should use more often. We often say it with a positive or neutral tone. Talk about the brevity of some event, or the brevity of some period of time: "the brevity of her stay with us," "the brevity of our lives." "Brevity" can also mean "the use of as few words as possible to get the idea across," and that's an excellent quality of speech and writing: "We appreciated her brevity at the podium." "Lincoln's speech is a model of brevity." "As a novelist, he's learned to balance brevity with detail." examples: This 200-word essay demands brevity: delete the long intro and get straight to your point. What Book 7 lacks in brevity--it's 607 pages compared to the 223 in Book 1--it makes up for in depth. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "brevity" means when you can explain it without saying "briefness" or "shortness." try it out: Fill in the blank: "My time spent (at a certain special place, or doing a certain special thing) remains prominent in my memory, far out of proportion to its brevity." Example: "My time spent working at the E.T. ride at Universal Studios remains prominent in my memory, far out of proportion to its brevity." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing with The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. It's a collection of silly, sarcastic, satirical definitions of everyday words, and--lucky us!--it's in the public domain. In each issue this month, I'll give you one of Bierce's definitions and, if it's a tough one, I'll give you the word's first letter. And you try to come up with the word. From our previous issue: Bierce defines it as "a favorite weapon of the assassins of character." It's a noun. It starts with R. What is it? Answer: Rumor. Try this today: Bierce defines it as "in man, the gateway to the soul; in woman, the outlet of the heart." It's a noun. What is it? review today's word: 1. One opposite of BREVITY is A. INCLUSIVENESS B. DECISIVENESS C. WORDINESS 2. Through Hazel, John Green says "_____," a thought with the power to warm us against the cold brevity of life. A. Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them B. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities...I cannot tell you how grateful I am for our little infinity C. Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B