abruptly
Americanadverb
-
without warning; suddenly or unexpectedly.
Not noticing that the car in front of him had stopped abruptly, he rear-ended it.
-
in few words and without using any polite formulas; brusquely.
My 14-year-old son was calling; as soon as I picked up, he asked abruptly, “How long till you get home?”
-
steeply; sharply.
At one end, the meadow flowed into a large valley; at the other, it dropped off abruptly in a cliff.
Other Word Forms
- unabruptly adverb
Etymology
Origin of abruptly
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.
Seven months after abruptly dropping out of the 1988 presidential race, Hart jumped back into the contest.
From Los Angeles Times
However, she "had to abruptly halt her performance due to unavoidable circumstances" on Friday "even though she was in the middle of performing", her management posted on her official website on Saturday.
From Barron's
Adolescence - That changes abruptly from the age of nine when the connections in the brain go through a period of ruthless efficiency.
From BBC
This was his first performance since he had to abruptly cancel his world tour last year.
From Los Angeles Times
It comes a week after US investment group RedBird Capital Partners abruptly abandoned its takeover, reigniting uncertainty over the paper's future and extending a protracted sale marked by government intervenion.
From Barron's
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.
