concisional

Concisional is an English adjective used to describe language, prose, or speech that emphasizes concision—brevity and economy of expression. Although rare, the term appears in rhetorical analysis, editors’ guidance, and linguistic discussions to denote a style that communicates maximum meaning with a minimum of words.

The word is derived from the Latin concisus “cut up, shortened,” via subsequent borrowing into English; the suffix -al forms an adjective describing a property or characteristic.

In practice, concisional writing aims to remove redundancy, circumlocution, and superfluous qualifiers, favoring direct, tight phrasing. It is valued in summaries, abstracts, technical reports, and other contexts where clarity and efficiency are paramount. However, a too-concisional style may risk obscuring nuance, context, or tone if critical information is omitted.

Compared with related terms, concisional describes the quality of the language itself; concision or concise refer to the state of being brief or the brief-form expression. Other related concepts include laconic and terse, which emphasize brevity, sometimes with a stark or abrupt tone.

Because concisional usage is uncommon outside specialized discourse, authors often substitute more familiar terms such as concise or conciseness when writing for general audiences. See also concision, concise, laconic, terse.