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

Four years ago, Tennessee's governor ordered another independent review into capital punishment after abruptly stopping the April 2022 execution of Oscar Smith. — Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Mexican restaurant closes abruptly Despite the comments on a recent Facebook post praising its glory, a KC-area Mexican restaurant has closed. — Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026

Four years before that, the governor ordered an independent review into capital punishment after abruptly stopping the April 2022 execution of Oscar Smith in the 11th hour when officials became aware of a mishandling of the drugs. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

First, Venus in Scorpio and Mars in Leo abruptly link up on October 10 under the New Moon in Libra, pushing us to chase love. — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abruptly

• corruptly