abruptly

adverb

abrupt·​ly ə-ˈbrəp(t)-lē 

: in an abrupt manner : in a sudden and unexpected way

He left abruptly.

The car swerved abruptly onto the exit ramp.

Her career as a psychologist ended abruptly several years ago when a hacker broke into some of her private client files and made them public …

—Michael Logan

The small, rocky Anacapa Island [California] has steep cliffs which rise abruptly from the ocean on almost every side …

—David J. Rutherford

Synonyms of abruptly

• suddenly

Examples of abruptly in a Sentence

the car in front stopped abruptly, and we almost hit it

Recent Examples on the Web

But the citations were abruptly dismissed, city records show. — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026

Dixon was the chief operating officer at the nonprofit conservation organization when Paul Baribault abruptly stepped down as CEO more than 15 months ago. — Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2026

Last year, Earle abruptly exited Unwell, Cooper’s media network, after only two years with the company. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2026

After a period of radio silence from management, the dozen nurses abruptly received 45-day notices in late May saying that they would be laid off. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abruptly

• corruptly