What's the difference between terse and witty?

Terse


Definition:

  • (superl.) Appearing as if rubbed or wiped off; rubbed; smooth; polished.
  • (superl.) Refined; accomplished; -- said of persons.
  • (superl.) Elegantly concise; free of superfluous words; polished to smoothness; as, terse language; a terse style.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The lossmaking chain of supermarkets, funeral homes and pharmacies said in a terse two-line statement that Stuart Ramsay had left the board with immediate effect after "an independent report, and at the request of the board".
  • (2) He replied tersely: “Di María is a fine player but we would still have won that game.” Martino called his winger “one of the five best players in the world” and said his country had missed him sorely in the final.
  • (3) A humiliated Trierweiler was publicly ditched by Hollande in a terse 18-word statement announcing that he was “putting an end” to their “shared life”.
  • (4) In a terse statement the New IRA said Kearney was shot after the group carried out "an investigation".
  • (5) "I think the figures are somewhat overstated in this country," he says tersely, "as it's generally the same three scientists making their voices heard.
  • (6) There is a significant gap between the plans of the Greek authorities and requirements of the commission, ECB and IMF European commission statement In a tersely worded statement, the European commission declared talks would resume when euro area finance ministers gather in Luxembourg on Thursday.
  • (7) Manchester United manager Ed Woodward is reported to have sent Chelsea a "terse" letter, warning them to cease and desist in their efforts to sign Wayne Rooney .
  • (8) Fielding questions from journalists after the game, Altidore opened with a terse stock defense, stating: "It doesn’t matter how I play as long as we win".
  • (9) A senior government official was more terse: "We don't want to see China patrolling the East and South China seas as though they think they own them."
  • (10) Terry, meanwhile, issued a terse statement in response.
  • (11) From the plague's ominous annunciation, the first dead rat, rotting on the turn of the stair in the protagonist's apartment block, to the end of the first act and the prefect's terse command, "close the town", plot fits meaning with tailored perfection.
  • (12) "They have cattle and now they have one of my boys," he wrote in a terse press release.
  • (13) In answers that ranged from terse monosyllables to rambling monologues, Cayne said he wished the Securities and Exchange Commission had looked into the way rumours about Bear were spread: "Regardless of whether there was a conspiracy or not, the bottom line is the firm came under attack."
  • (14) Head coach Doc Rivers has responded to the possibility with a very terse "it's stupid".
  • (15) Additionally, while the answers were terse, the immediacy and intimacy of the president's responses offered a glimpse into his mind that might never have been exposed so starkly in more formal circumstances.
  • (16) Dan Ashworth, David Gill and I have carried out a thorough process in the last three weeks and ultimately we could not look beyond Sam as the ideal candidate.” Allardyce performed a minor miracle to save Sunderland from relegation after succeeding Dick Advocaat last October but, in a terse statement which will interpreted as churlish, the Wearside club failed to reference his contribution, let alone thank him or offer their good wishes.
  • (17) Westminster slumbers in recess, voters are on holiday or reeling from the latesthorrors of Isis – and Nick Clegg tersely announces Lord Rennard has been reinstated as a party member , all disciplinary action miraculously evaporated.
  • (18) "There is no truth to these baseless allegations," Egypt's foreign ministry said in a terse statement on Sunday.
  • (19) This time the drone attack was successful , from the US perspective, and al-Shabaab issued a terse statement: "The martyr received what he wished for and what he went out for."
  • (20) As for that last line, millions of voices cried out with “duh” and went back to exhaling tersely through their noses.

Witty


Definition:

  • (n.) Possessed of wit; knowing; wise; skillful; judicious; clever; cunning.
  • (n.) Especially, possessing wit or humor; good at repartee; droll; facetious; sometimes, sarcastic; as, a witty remark, poem, and the like.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) This House , his witty political drama set in the whips' office of 1970s Westminster, transferred from the National's Cottesloe theatre to the Olivier, following critical acclaim.
  • (2) That merriment is not just tankards and quaintness and mimsy Morris dancing, but a witty, angry and tender fire at the centre of Englishness.
  • (3) Witty's comments came as GSK unveiled lower first half sales and profits, and a further £500m of cost cuts by the end of 2015.
  • (4) We encourage people to speak up if they have concerns" #gsk July 24, 2013 12.29pm BST Witty says this investigation is "quite different" to the whistleblower claims the company recently investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
  • (5) Pauline Kael, when reviewing the film, said, "Jane Fonda has been a charming, witty, nudie cutie in recent years, and now gets a chance at an archetypal character.
  • (6) His works are witty rather than wise, pacey not profound.
  • (7) Mohamedou Ould Slahi: “smart, witty, garrulous, and curiously undamaged” Another team inside the plane dragged me and fastened me on a small and straight seat.
  • (8) While researching his forthcoming book, A History of the World in Twelve Maps , Brotton sometimes brought up the "one-to-one map" idea, from Borges and Carroll, with people at Google, but they didn't find it particularly witty or intriguing.
  • (9) But I do try to find the good in everybody," Parton says perkily, and later proves it by describing Sylvester Stallone – her co-star in the deservedly little-seen 1984 film Rhinestone – as "just a nut, but so witty!".
  • (10) Best known in this country as the author of a large number of witty and provocative books - and as the Reith lecturer in 1966 - Galbraith was professor of economics at Harvard University from 1949 until his retirement in 1975, but was equally well known in the US as a distinguished civil servant and longtime, tireless adviser and campaigner for liberal Democrats and their causes.
  • (11) Critics who saw Budapest at the Berlin film festival, where it premiered this month, have called it "vibrant and imaginative" , "nimblefooted, witty" , and as a sucker for Anderson's stuff since his early days, I'd agree.
  • (12) He duly obliged and the crowd was treated to the first look at Age of Ultron, starting with a witty interchange between the Avengers as each, enjoying a drink and dressed in civilian clothing, tries to lift Thor’s hammer.
  • (13) Witty backed the prime minister’s efforts to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership.
  • (14) In an interview with the Observer , Witty said: "While the chief executive of the company could move, maybe the top 20 directors could move, what about the 16,000 people who work for us?
  • (15) And, in any case, Preston is obviously bright and witty and engaging.
  • (16) There is something very Avaazian about the crisistunity, I come to think, in that it's borrowed something slick and witty from popular culture and re-purposed it for something which used to be called the Greater Good.
  • (17) Sometimes, when stood by the bar, caught in the witty back-and-forth between two strange men, it feels like you're out in bad weather without a hat.
  • (18) Scottish Ballet: The Nutcracker In recent years, Christmas at Scottish Ballet has been defined by Ashley Page’s witty, acerbic re-writes of the 19th century classics.
  • (19) Seen as a warm and witty liberal, he founded the parliamentary bicycle pool and has earned the moniker the "bicycling baronet" (the Youngs featured on a British Rail poster promoting the transport of bicycles by rail in 1982).
  • (20) Witty was optimistic that “ultimately there are going to be some pragmatic decisions made” that would ensure companies were able to attract global talent.