abrupt
sudden or unexpected: an abrupt departure.
curt or brusque in speech, manner, etc.: an abrupt reply.
terminating or changing suddenly: an abrupt turn in a road.
having many sudden changes from one subject to another; lacking in continuity or smoothness: an abrupt writing style.
steep; precipitous: an abrupt descent.
Botany. truncate (def. 4).
Origin of abrupt
1synonym study For abrupt
Other words for abrupt
Opposites for abrupt
Other words from abrupt
- ab·rupt·ly, adverb
- ab·rupt·ness, noun
Words Nearby abrupt
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use abrupt in a sentence
Chipmakers curbed production then ramped back up, though they still can't meet the industry's abrupt demand rebound.
Our best bet right now, based on the abrupt shift in model projections toward some meaningful precipitation, is that some wet snow will occur.
Game on! Super Bowl snow is back in the forecast for D.C. area. | Jason Samenow, Wes Junker | February 4, 2021 | Washington PostJumping into a message without at least a “Hi” is abrupt and rude in email, but less so in a text.
Video conferences are here to stay, even after we go back to the office. Get used to it. | Karla Miller | February 4, 2021 | Washington PostThe discovery, described January 16 in Cretaceous Research, suggests that mosasaurs were evolving experimental physical traits and lifestyles right up until their abrupt extinction 66 million years ago.
This ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other | Jake Buehler | February 2, 2021 | Science NewsThe retelling also seems to confirm long-standing rumors that Sean “Diddy” Combs — a frequent target of Williams — had a hand in Williams’s abrupt 1998 departure from the prominent hip-hop station.
Wendy Williams seems like the perfect Lifetime movie subject. So why is it so unsettling to watch? | Bethonie Butler | January 31, 2021 | Washington Post
In May 2009, however, the president had an abrupt change of heart.
The Detainee Abuse Photos Obama Didn’t Want You To See | Noah Shachtman, Tim Mak | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFans felt cheated by the abrupt end of a marriage seasons in the making (to Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockery).
‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Demand: Bring Back Beth! | Melissa Leon | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBiologist Mattson is alarmed by the abrupt 2008 rise in grizzly mortality from conflicts both with livestock and hunters.
King declined to elaborate on what that “immediate and abrupt action” would be, saying only that he had “a few ideas.”
Steve King: GOP Congress Should Keep Repealing Obamacare | Ben Jacobs | October 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe abrupt increase that night in U.S. sorties also stopped the town falling.
In the Battle for Kobani, ISIS Falls Back. But for How Long? | Jamie Dettmer | October 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere was no vivacity in his putty-coloured features, but there were promptitude and decision in every abrupt gesture.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuThe intricacies and abrupt turns in the road separated him from his immediate followers.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterShe had begun to speak with an abrupt and almost fierce nervous irritation, but she recovered herself immediately.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensSome of his violins possess a distinguishing mark in a rather abrupt rise in the centre.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceThe speech came to an abrupt end when, losing her balance, she fell to the ground, and lay there in drunken contentment.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
British Dictionary definitions for abrupt
/ (əˈbrʌpt) /
sudden; unexpected
brusque or brief in speech, manner, etc; curt
(of a style of writing or speaking) making sharp transitions from one subject to another; disconnected
precipitous; steep
botany shaped as though a part has been cut off; truncate
geology (of strata) cropping out suddenly
Origin of abrupt
1Derived forms of abrupt
- abruptly, adverb
- abruptness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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