abrupt

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“
Not thus--abrupt, agitated: anything but the calm and grave Nathanael He looked eagerly round the room--all rose: but Miss Valery was the first to take his hand Thanks, Anne, I knew you would be with them.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. adjective Unexpectedly sudden: an abrupt change in the weather.
  2. adjective Surprisingly curt; brusque: an abrupt answer made in anger.
  3. adjective Touching on one subject after another with sudden transitions: abrupt prose.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • Lindsay had already spotted the reason for her abrupt, awkward halt. —  Deadline for Murder—Val McDermid—Lindsay Gordon 03
  • While the ending seemed abrupt, and slightly unusual ... all in all it was (and still is) a fantastic DS game. —  1UP RSS feed
  • The most recent was the government's abrupt, and almost certainly unconstitutional decision to prevent Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik from returning home to Canada. —  Thestar.com - Home Page
  • Every year the science becomes more dire -- abrupt climate change of horrific speed and consequences looms. —  EcoEarth.Info Environment RSS Newsfeed
  • Jeremy Piven calls his abrupt B'way departure 'humbling' —  Brandon Sun Online - Top Stories
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This word has been looked up 172 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

sudden ·  rapid ·  harsh ·  final ·  startle ·  curt ·  hasty ·  momentary ·  rough
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin abruptus, past participle of abrumpere, to break off : ab-, away; see ab-1 + rumpere, to break; see reup- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin abruptus, steep, disconnected, abrupt, past participle of abrumpere, break off, from ab, off, + rumpere, break: see rupture.
 

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/əˈbrəpt/
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