abrupt

comparative more abrupt · comparative abrupter · superlative most abrupt · superlative abruptest

1. obsoleterareBroken away (from restraint).First known use Attested only in the late 16th century.
2. Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.First known use First attested in the late 16th century.

   The party came to an abrupt end when the parents of our host arrived.

   3 more examples

   The cause of your abrupt departure.

   1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI Part I, II-iii

   There was something in this abrupt allusion to the treasured and hidden past, that at once shocked and silenced Norbourne. He was annoyed to find that his heart's sweetest secret was in the possession of one so little likely to keep it;...

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 76

   'Is it a slickstone?' she asks, and Maren snorts, an abrupt sound, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

   2020 January 28, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Mercies, →ISBN, page 130

   Synonyms: sudden, disconnected, unexpected

3. Curt in manner.First known use First attested in the late 16th century.

   1 more example

   With no great disparity between them in point of years, they were, in every other respect, as unlike and far removed from each other as two men could well be. The one was soft-spoken, delicately made, precise, and elegant; the other, a burly square-built man, negligently dressed, rough and abrupt in manner, stern, and, in his present mood, forbidding both in look and speech.

   1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 12.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 301

   Synonyms: brusque, rude, uncivil, impolite, terse, brisk, blunt, brusque

4. Having sudden transitions from one subject or state to another; unconnected; disjointed.First known use First attested in the late 16th century.

   The abrupt style, which hath many breaches.

   1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter

5. obsoleteBroken off.First known use Attested from the early 17th century until the mid 18th century.
6. Extremely steep or craggy as if broken up; precipitous.First known use First attested in the early 17th century.

   The mazy-running brook Forms a deep pool; this bank abrupt and high.

   a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC

   1 more example

   To the north the towering scree-strewn slopes of Saddleback begin to draw nearer as we start the abrupt descent towards Keswick.

   1961 October, ""Voyageur"", “The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 601

   Synonyms: broken, rough, rugged

7. biologySuddenly terminating, as if cut off; truncate.First known use First attested in the early 19th century.

   Root oblong, blackish, nearly the thickness of the little finger, often growing obliquely; abrupt at the lower end, so as to appear as if bitten off, furnished with long whitish fibres.

   1839, William Baxter, British Phænogamous Botany, →OCLC

present singular third person abrupts · participle present abrupting · participle past abrupted · past abrupted

1. archaictransitiveTo tear off or asunder.First known use First attested in the mid 17th century.

   Till death abrupts them.

   1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC

2. To interrupt suddenly.First known use First attested in the mid 17th century.

plural abrupts

1. poeticSomething which is abrupt; an abyss.First known use First attested in the mid 17th century.

   Over the vast abrupt.

   1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC