abrupt

adjective

ə-ˈbrəpt 

1

a

: characterized by or involving action or change without preparation or warning : sudden and unexpected

came to an abrupt stop

an abrupt turn

an abrupt decision to retire

b

: rudely or unceremoniously curt

She has an abrupt manner.

an abrupt reply

c

: lacking smoothness or continuity

an abrupt transition

2

: giving the impression of being cut or broken off

especially : involving a sudden steep rise or drop

abrupt hills

a high abrupt bank bounded the stream

abruptness

ə-ˈbrəp(t)-nəs 

noun

Did you know?

We'll break it to you gently: abrupt derives from abruptus, the past participle of the Latin verb abrumpere, meaning "to break off." Abrumpere combines the prefix ab- with rumpere, which means "to break" and which forms the basis for several other words in English that suggest a kind of breaking, such as interrupt, rupture, and bankrupt. Whether being used to describe a style of speaking that seems rudely short (as in "gave an abrupt answer"), something with a severe rise or drop ("abrupt temperature change"), or something that seems rash and unprecipitated ("made the abrupt decision to quit college"), abrupt, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, implies a kind of jarring unexpectedness that catches people off guard.

Synonyms

• bluff
• blunt
• brusque
• brusk
• crusty
• curt
• downright
• short
• short-spoken
• snippy
• unceremonious

Choose the Right Synonym for abrupt

precipitate, headlong, abrupt, impetuous, sudden mean showing undue haste or unexpectedness.

precipitate stresses lack of due deliberation and implies prematureness of action.

the army's precipitate withdrawal

headlong stresses rashness and lack of forethought.

a headlong flight from arrest

abrupt stresses curtness and a lack of warning or ceremony.

an abrupt refusal

impetuous stresses extreme impatience or impulsiveness.

an impetuous lover proposing marriage

sudden stresses unexpectedness and sharpness or violence of action.

flew into a sudden rage

steep, abrupt, precipitous, sheer mean having an incline approaching the perpendicular.

steep implies such sharpness of pitch that ascent or descent is very difficult.

a steep hill

a steep dive

abrupt implies a sharper pitch and a sudden break in the level.

a beach with an abrupt drop-off

precipitous applies to an incline approaching the vertical.

the river winds through a precipitous gorge

sheer suggests an unbroken perpendicular expanse.

sheer cliffs that daunted the climbers

Examples of abrupt in a Sentence

There was an abrupt change in the weather.

The road came to an abrupt end.

The storm caused an abrupt power failure.

She has an abrupt manner.

Recent Examples on the Web

The abrupt worsening of water quality caused a drop in the amount of oxygen in the water, killing fish including nonnative perch, bluegill and bass that had been introduced in the reservoirs. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

This tyranny demands that Japan avoid abrupt, provocative moves that might startle China. —Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024

The abrupt cut-away from the broadcast had some X users comparing to the infamous moment in 1968 when NBC jumped from a nail-biter New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game to switch to children’s movie Heidi. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024

The abrupt disclosure at the hearing brought the ire of activists who believed that the bike lane would make one of the District’s most important corridors more walkable and environmentally friendly. —Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024

Erdogan made an abrupt U-turn in economic policy after his triumph in a national election last year, resulting in aggressive interest rate hikes to rein in inflation expectations that soared under his years-long unorthodox policy stance. —Reuters, NBC News, 1 Apr. 2024

Their abrupt arrival at Eva’s brother, who runs a veterinarian surgery, is awkward for everyone, as Eva has been silent for years, busy dragging her daughter around the world, in her restless pursuit of new adventures and relationships. —Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024

According to the World Health Organization, an earthquake is a violent, abrupt shaking of the ground, caused by movement between tectonic plates along a fault line in the earth’s crust. —Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 5 Apr. 2024

Tech IPOs are making a comeback The tech IPO frenzy of the early pandemic came to an abrupt end in 2022, as capital dried up following the Fed’s rate hikes. —Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin abruptus "steep, sheer, broken or cut off too short," from past participle of abrumpere "to break, rupture, break off short," from ab- ab- + rumpere "to cause to break or burst," going back to Indo-European *ru-n-p-, nasal present formation from the base *reu̯p- "break, tear" — more at reave

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

abrupt

adjective

ə-ˈbrəpt 

1

a

: sudden sense 1a

an abrupt change in the weather

b

: rudely brief : curt

an abrupt manner

2

: steep entry 1 sense 1

the high abrupt bank of a stream

abruptly

ə-ˈbrup-(t)lē 

adverb

abruptness

ə-ˈbrəp(t)-nəs 

noun

Etymology

from Latin abruptus "abrupt," derived from abrumpere "to break off," from ab- "from" and rumpere "to break" — related to corrupt, interrupt, rupture

Word Origin

If a person is rudely brief in speech or manner or stops you before you finish talking, you could say that that person is abrupt. If a road ends suddenly, you could say that the road comes to an abrupt end. In both of these cases you might think of something that is abrupt as "breaking off." Abrupt comes from the Latin word abruptus, meaning "broken off, ending suddenly." That word is formed (with the addition of the prefix ab-, meaning "from") from the Latin word rumpere, meaning "to break." Latin rumpere has given us several other English words that carry the idea of breaking: interrupt, rupture, and corrupt.