abruptly

[uh-bruhpt-lee]

adverb

1. without warning; suddenly or unexpectedly.

   Not noticing that the car in front of him had stopped abruptly, he rear-ended it.

2. 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?”

3. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of abruptly¹

abrupt ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Then, following a 1980 gig at Houston’s Astrodome, Cassidy abruptly quit music to focus on writing and acting, which he describes as his real passion.

From Los Angeles Times

“Giving it for two years, or whatever, and then abruptly stopping it, instead of phasing it down… that could have helped families prepare to readjust and rethink,” he said in 2023.

From Salon

Then, seemingly just as abruptly as it all began - it was all over.

From BBC

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., abruptly sent lawmakers home early this summer for a month-long break after a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to vote for the Department of Justice to release the files.

From Salon

After a series out surprise outbursts from the usually guarded Portuguese, and almost a month of doubt, his 21-month City Ground reign finished abruptly with an early morning statement.

From BBC

Related Words

• all of a sudden 
• precipitously www.thesaurus.com
• suddenly 
• unexpectedly