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epigrammatic

/ˌˈɛpəgrəˌmædɪk/

IPA guide

Other forms: epigrammatically

Something that's epigrammatic is short and clever. An aphorism or maxim — a witty, concise saying — is epigrammatic.

A poem, statement, or joke that's short and sweet is epigrammatic. Dorothy Parker wrote, "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone,” and many other epigrammatic phrases. Oscar Wilde was also known for clever epigrammatic writing, such as "I can resist anything except temptation." You can call both examples epigrams, "clever, pithy sayings," from the Greek root epigramma, "inscription in verse."

Definitions of epigrammatic
  1. adjective
    terse and witty and like a maxim
    synonyms: aphoristic, apothegmatic
    breviloquent, concise
    expressing much in few words
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