telegraphic

adjective

tele·​graph·​ic ˌte-lə-ˈgra-fik 

1

: of or relating to the telegraph

2

: concise, terse

telegraphically

ˌte-lə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• aphoristic
• apothegmatic
• brief
• capsule
• compact
• compendious
• concise
• crisp
• curt
• elliptical
• elliptic
• epigrammatic
• laconic
• monosyllabic
• pithy
• sententious
• succinct
• summary
• terse
• thumbnail

Examples of telegraphic in a Sentence

when dealing with her staff, she communicated mostly in telegraphic sentences and meaningful looks

Recent Examples on the Web

One was owned by Cyrus W. Field, who masterminded the first telegraphic cable to cross the Atlantic. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 29 July 2024

Chan perused some 170 telegraphic code books, finally coming across a section about signals used by the US Army Signal Corps that were similar to the pages found in the antique silk dress. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2024

As a grad student, Blackburn began trying her hand at this telegraphic style of storytelling. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024

Woolery encourages a broad, telegraphic style in her actors, but Tousey, as Bobbie, operates from a stillness as foundational as that Manhattan schist. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1