DIMENSIONS: DENOTATION / Quality
R E F E R E N C E S
Abrupt adj. 1. sudden; quick and unexpected: an abrupt departure. 2. curt or brusque in speech, manner, etc.: an abrupt reply. 3. terminating or changing suddenly: an abrupt turn in a road. 4. lacking in continuity or smoothness. 5. steep; precipitous: an abrupt descent. 6. Bot. truncate [def. 3]. [< L aprupt(us) broken off [ptp. of abrumpere] = ab- AB- + -rup- break + -tus ptp. suffix]
-Syn. 1, 3. quick, sharp. See sudden. 2. hurried, hasty, blunt. 4. broken, uneven. -Ant. 1, 3. gradual.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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