Main Entry: brusque

Variant(s): also brusk \ˈbrəsk\

Function: adjective

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

Date: 1651

1 : markedly short and abrupt
2 : blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness

synonyms see bluff

— brusque·ly adverb

— brusque·ness noun