clipped

/klɪpt/

/klɪpt/

Use the adjective clipped for things that are cut very short — or for things that sound that way. "A clipped lawn is better for croquet," she announced in clipped tones.

While you can use clipped where you'd use words like "shorn" or "trimmed," it's more common for this adjective to describe a particular way of speaking. If someone talks in a slightly irritated, very direct way, using sharp, short sounds, their speech is clipped. You can hear the difference between your math teacher's laid back "Hey kids, have a seat!" and your gym teacher's clipped command, "Take a knee. Now."

Definitions of clipped

1. adjective

   cut or trimmed by clipping
   “a handsome man with a clipped moustache”

   “clipped hedges”

   “close-clipped lawns”

   “a clipped poodle”

   synonyms:

   cut, manicured, trimmed

   made neat and tidy by trimming
2. adjective

   (of speech) having quick short sounds
   “a clipped upper-class accent”

   synonyms:

   short

   primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration