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ASVAB · Context Clues

In the sentence, 'The veteran sergeant's TERSE reply left no room for further questions,' the word TERSE most nearly means:

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Correct answer

Brief and to the point

  1. A Friendly
  2. B Brief and to the point
  3. C Long-winded
  4. D Confusing

Why this is the answer

Context clues in the sentence — a reply that 'left no room for further questions' — signal that TERSE means short, brief, and to the point, often abruptly so. The opposite would be long-winded or wordy, offered as a distractor. When a Word Knowledge item embeds the word in a sentence, use the surrounding meaning to infer the definition: a reply that ends discussion is concise and clipped. TERSE describes speech or writing that is economical with words, sometimes to the point of seeming curt.
Source: ASVAB Word Knowledge — Context Clues

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About this topic: Context Clues

Context-clue questions give the word inside a sentence; the surrounding words tell you whether it is positive or negative, large or small, action or state. Use that before reaching for a definition. This is one of 10 Word Knowledge questions on context clues, each with a full explanation on a single study page.

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