* Formal: The professor tersely summarized the complex theory, leaving the students with more questions than answers.
* Informal: "I'm not sure I understand," I said, but she only answered tersely, "Just do it."
* Descriptive: The detective's terse tone and hard eyes made it clear he wasn't interested in excuses.
* Humorous: The dog tersely wagged its tail, clearly unimpressed by my attempts to teach it a new trick.
"Tersely" implies a concise, brief, and sometimes blunt or abrupt manner of communication. It can be used to describe both written and spoken communication.