as in suddenly
with great suddenness
the car in front stopped abruptly, and we almost hit it
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Recent Examples of abruptly
Lecornu abruptly resigned Monday, only hours after unveiling a new Cabinet that drew opposition from a key coalition partner.
—
NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Police said the driver of a gold truck traveling northbound abruptly braked and swerved to avoid a head-on collision with Lacy's Charger.
—Deena Zaru, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2025
The seabed drops abruptly to a plateau.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
After a 3-0 start, the Chargers have fallen abruptly, and the Denver Broncos have caught up to them in the division race.
—Daniel Popper, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abruptly
NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Police said the driver of a gold truck traveling northbound abruptly braked and swerved to avoid a head-on collision with Lacy's Charger.
—Deena Zaru, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2025
The seabed drops abruptly to a plateau.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
After a 3-0 start, the Chargers have fallen abruptly, and the Denver Broncos have caught up to them in the division race.
—Daniel Popper, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abruptly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abruptly
Adverb
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Then, suddenly, in December 2014, a teaser for Black Messiah appeared online, and just a few days later, the album was released.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
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Jobs present more of a risk now Powell acknowledged Tuesday that the central bank’s dual mandate—stable prices and maximum employment—has suddenly started pulling in the other direction.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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The flight test was previously delayed on June 18 when the Starship vehicle SpaceX assigned to the next flight, designated Ship 36, unexpectedly exploded while SpaceX was preparing it for launch.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
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As was the case after the 2019 World Cup in France — when this side’s predecessors qualified for the tournament after an absence of two decades, topped a ‘Group of Death’ including Australia and Brazil and unexpectedly reached the last eight — the spotlight is back on the women’s game in Italy.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abruptly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abruptly. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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