Etymology First attested in 1583. Borrowed from Latin abruptus (“broken off”), perfect passive participle of abrumpō (“break off”), formed from ab (“from, away from”) + rumpō (“to break”).
Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.
The party came to an abrupt end when the parents of our host arrived.
The cause of your abrupt departure.1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI Part I, II-iii:
2 more examples
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:
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Curt in manner.
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:
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Having sudden transitions from one subject or state to another; unconnected; disjointed.
The abrupt style, which hath many breaches.1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter:
Extremely steep or craggy as if broken up; precipitous.
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:
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:
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Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Suddenly terminating, as if cut off; truncate.
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:
Etymology First attested in 1583. Borrowed from Latin abruptus (“broken off”), perfect passive participle of abrumpō (“break off”), formed from ab (“from, away from”) + rumpō (“to break”).
Etymology First attested in 1583. Borrowed from Latin abruptus (“broken off”), perfect passive participle of abrumpō (“break off”), formed from ab (“from, away from”) + rumpō (“to break”).
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: