abrupt
adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Sudden and unexpected, often in a way that seems rude.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhbruhptSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əbˈɹʌpt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.
Having sudden transitions from one subject or state to another; unconnected; disjointed.
Curt in manner.
Extremely steep or craggy as if broken up; precipitous.
verb
To interrupt suddenly.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.
Used this way, abrupt is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Sudden and forceful
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: without notice to prepare the mind for the event
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.