abrupt

(ə-brŭpt')
adj.

1. Unexpectedly sudden: an abrupt change in the weather.
2. Surprisingly curt; brusque: an abrupt answer made in anger.
3. Touching on one subject after another with sudden transitions: abrupt prose.
4. Steeply inclined. See synonyms at steep¹.
5. Botany. Terminating suddenly rather than gradually; truncate: an abrupt leaf.

[Latin abruptus, past participle of abrumpere, to break off : ab-, away; see ab-¹ + rumpere, to break.]

abruptly a·brupt'ly adv.
abruptness a·brupt'ness n.

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adjective

1. Happening quickly and without warning: hurried, precipitant, precipitate, sudden. See fast/slow/velocity, surprise/expect.
2. Rudely unceremonious: blunt, brief, brusque, crusty, curt, gruff, short, short-spoken. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude.
3. So sharply inclined as to be almost perpendicular: bold, precipitous, sheer, steep. See horizontal/vertical/change of position.

adj

Definition: happening suddenly and unexpectedly
Antonyms: at ease, deliberate, expansive, gradual, leisurely

adj

Definition: in a rude or brief manner
Antonyms: calm, kind, nice

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

adj.

Sudden, without ceremony, like the arrival of a cannon- shot and the departure of the soldier whose interests are most affected by it. Dr. Samuel Johnson beautifully said of another author's ideas that they were "concatenated without abruption."

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IN BRIEF: The state of being terminated earlier than expected.

Mr. Mason was known for his abruptness and impoliteness.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to abrupt, see:

• Cold, Unfriendly, Irritable, or Cruel

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See words rhyming with "abrupt."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Abrupt.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - brat, pludselig

Nederlands (Dutch)
abrupt, kortaf, gevaarlijk steil, bruusk, afgekapt

Français (French)
adj. - soudain, précipité, bourru, brusque, heurté (un discours), abrupt, raide (une pente)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - abrupt, jäh, schlagartig, sprunghaft, brüsk, schroff, barsch

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - απότομος, αιφνίδιος, ξαφνικός, απροσδόκητος, αναπάντεχος, τραχύς, κοφτός, αγενής

Italiano (Italian)
improvviso, brusco

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - abrupto

Русский (Russian)
резкий, внезапный, неожиданный, резкий, грубый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - abrupto, escarpado, repentino, súbito, brusco

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - abrupt, tvär

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
突然的, 鲁莽的, 意外的, 陡峭的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 突然的, 魯莽的, 意外的, 陡峭的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 뜻밖의, 무뚝뚝한, 험한, 맥락이 끊긴, 단열된, 급히 잘라낸 모양의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不意の, ぶっきらぼうな, 険しい, 急に露出した

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مفاجيء, غير متوقع, حاد, فظ, جاف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פתאומי, מקוטע, תלול, מחוסר-קשר, לא אדיב, גס, מקוצץ, לא-מאוזן‬

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