Academic Writing Techniques

noun a quality of being brief and abrupt in speech or manner

• Her response was delivered with such curtness that it left everyone in the room feeling uneasy.
• I don't appreciate the curtness in his tone when he talks to me.
• She hit him with some serious curtness when he tried to flirt with her.
• The curtness of his actions spoke volumes about his true feelings towards the project.

noun the quality or state of being ponderous; heaviness or dullness in movement or thought

• The ponderousness of the legal documents made it difficult to sift through all the details.
• I can't stand the ponderousness of this book, it's so boring!
• The ponderousness of his speech put everyone to sleep.
• The ponderousness of the task weighed heavily on her mind.