variants or less commonly brusk
1
: markedly short and abrupt
a brusque reply
2
: blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness
was brusque with the customers
brusquely adverb
brusqueness noun

Did you know?

We borrowed brusque from French in the 1600s. The French, in turn, had borrowed it from Italian, where it was spelled brusco and meant "tart." And the Italian term came from bruscus, the Medieval Latin name for butcher's-broom, a shrub whose bristly leaf-like twigs have long been used for making brooms. English speakers initially used brusque to refer to a tartness in wine, but the word soon came to denote a harsh and stiff manner, which is just what you might expect of a word bristling with associations to stiff, scratchy brooms.

Choose the Right Synonym for brusque

bluff, blunt, brusque, curt, crusty, gruff mean abrupt and unceremonious in speech and manner.

bluff connotes good-natured outspokenness and unconventionality.

a bluff manner

blunt suggests directness of expression in disregard of others' feelings.

a blunt appraisal

brusque applies to a sharpness or ungraciousness.

a brusque response

curt implies disconcerting shortness or rude conciseness.

a curt command

crusty suggests a harsh or surly manner sometimes concealing an inner kindliness.

a crusty exterior

gruff suggests a hoarse or husky speech which may imply bad temper but more often implies embarrassment or shyness.

puts on a gruff pose

Examples of brusque in a Sentence

She asked for a cup of coffee and received a brusque reply: “We don't have any.” The teacher was brusque and impatient.
Recent Examples on the Web Fortunately, before the alarmist pair have time to take action, the brusque stranger drops them off at the restaurant. Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 Joined by a kleptomaniac fox (Awkwafina), a brusque pangolin (Ke Huy Quan) and a trio of ferocious little bunnies, Po sets out to defeat a sorcerer named the Chameleon (Viola Davis). Amy Nicholson, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Weber shines as the late Alexandre Leger, revealed via flashbacks to be handsome, bold, intelligent, and charismatic but also brusque, manipulative, arrogant, selfish, impulsive, and unyielding. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023 Mark Goddard Mark Goddard, the actor known for his role as the brusque pilot Maj. Don West on the 1960s sci-fi show Lost in Space, died Oct. 10, at 87. Ew Staff, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 The parlor is the hangout of Loveday Fortescue (Jen Furlong, exuding brusque energy) and Valeria Hunter (Laura Giannarelli, drolly flustered and preening), sisters who run a boardinghouse for single women in 1893 London. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 Traditional delicatessens have been closing all over the country for the past few decades, but Palm Beach and Broward counties remain a last bastion for these old-school eateries, complete with brusque atmosphere, irritated wait staff, no-sharing rules and freedom to talk with your mouth full. Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024 Others were brusque, stingier with the rations — sometimes days with just a piece of bread. Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023 His vocabulary was still dirty, and his attitude still brusque. Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brusque.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French brusque, from Italian brusco, from Medieval Latin bruscus butcher's-broom (plant with bristly twigs)

First Known Use

circa 1639, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brusque was circa 1639

Dictionary Entries Near brusque

Cite this Entry

“Brusque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brusque. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

brusque

adjective
: so short and frank in manner or speech as to be impolite
spoke in a brusque tone
brusquely adverb
brusqueness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on brusque

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