brusque
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See blunt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of brusque
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Middle French, from Italian brusco “rough, tart,” special use of brusco (noun) “butcher's broom,” from Late Latin brūscum, for Latin rūscus, rūscum, perhaps conflated with unattested Vulgar Latin brūcus “heather” ( see brier 2)
Explanation
If you ask a salesperson for help finding something and all you get in response is a brusque "Everything's out on the shelves," you'll probably take your business elsewhere. A brusque manner of speaking is unfriendly, rude, and very brief. Brush and brusque are not related, but they sound similar — when someone is brusque, you often feel that they are trying to give you the brush off. Near synonyms for brusque are curt, short, and gruff. Brusque (pronounced "brusk") was borrowed from the French word meaning "lively or fierce," from Italian brusco, "coarse, rough."
Vocabulary lists containing brusque
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He grew up in a German enclave in Brusque and spoke only German, which was outlawed when Brazil declared war on Germany in 1942.
From Washington Post • May 14, 2022
Brusque and unapologetic, Krasner shocked the city’s political establishment when he won the Democratic primary in 2017 and has gained national attention both for his policies and his blunt rhetoric and outspoken advocacy.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2019
Brusque but affable, he put me at ease.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2012
Brusque welcome: Peter Uihlein got a rather harsh U.S.
From Chicago Tribune • Jun. 17, 2011
Brusque in his manners, but most devotedly attached to his master, by whom he was taken from the workhouse.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
