variants
also brusk
as in abrupt
being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner
a brusque and unhelpful reply from the clerk in the hardware store
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brusque
The drama is often bracingly straightforward; characters declare their motives and enact their plans with brusque directness.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
The same substantive deficits afflict Louise-Parker, too, whose bright eyes and brusque wit are wasted in a role that’s villainous potential exists only in exposition.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 July 2025
Mitchell was forthright, brusque, keen to make his mark.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 30 June 2025
Going from Pitch Stop to Drama Room meant a brusque shift, with all four projects grappling with questions either directly tied to or adjacent to modern masculinity.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for brusque
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
The same substantive deficits afflict Louise-Parker, too, whose bright eyes and brusque wit are wasted in a role that’s villainous potential exists only in exposition.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 July 2025
Mitchell was forthright, brusque, keen to make his mark.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 30 June 2025
Going from Pitch Stop to Drama Room meant a brusque shift, with all four projects grappling with questions either directly tied to or adjacent to modern masculinity.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for brusque
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brusque
Adjective
-
Now is also the natural point to move away from Aston Villa assets, with their appealing run of opening games coming to an abrupt end.—
Holly Shand,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Berkeley’s apparent abrupt change of course came as a deep disappointment to Andrea Prichett, who helped found Berkeley Copwatch in 1990.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Less than a day later, a curt follow-up email landed in many of their inboxes informing them that they weren’t being let go after all.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Asked to assess his own performance afterward, Howard was curt.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Dave Roberts was blunt about Shohei Ohtani’s 1-for-18 National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Though the doors did not yield, Shapiro has not been able to escape the image – or the thought of the blunt sledgehammer Balmer had intended to strike him with.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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It’s still considered rude, and people on both sides tend to feel bad about it, albeit in different ways.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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Is it meant to suggest something about focaccia’s typically dimpled surface, in which case … kinda rude?—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But encounters with the island’s residents, including with his gruff but warm-hearted landlady (played by German screen legend Hanna Schygulla), gradually alter his outlook.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
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Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With one out in the second, Caleb Durbin sent a drive into left field that Kiké Hernandez turned into a triple when his diving attempt came up short.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Facing fourth-and-short at midfield, the Vikings tried another quick toss to O’Brien.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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With the unlikely help of the snippy Teng (Andy Yu), Morrow learns that Petrovich was sneaking out of his cryo-pod to conspire with Kavalier.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
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The organization sifts through reports of rudeness, terse emails, and snippy interactions, and finds reduced productivity and absenteeism costing companies’ bottom line.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Four years after her unceremonious exit from The Talk, Sharon Osbourne‘s late husband is calling out CBS from beyond the grave.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
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Lecornu, who was only appointed as France’s new prime minister on Tuesday after the unceremonious ousting of PM Francois Bayrou at the start of the week, faces an immediate challenge as a mass public protest is unfolding Wednesday.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brusque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brusque. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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