Abrupt

How to spell abrupt

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce abrupt

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does abrupt mean?

1. adjectiveSudden and unexpected, often in a way that feels jarring.
2. adjectiveCurt or brusque in speech or behaviour, lacking warmth or smoothness.

Abrupt in a sentence

• The meeting came to an abrupt end when the power failed.

• His abrupt reply made the new staff feel unwelcome.

• Her abrupt departure left the team scrambling to cover her work.

• She found the manager rather abrupt during the interview.

Where does abrupt come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin abruptus, the past participle of abrumpere, which meant 'to break off' from ab- 'away' and rumpere 'to break'. Literally it described something snapped or torn off, and the early sense in English carried that physical sharpness: a cliff or slope that broke off steeply was called abrupt. From there the meaning broadened to anything sudden or unexpectedly cut short, and then to people whose manner is curt or brusque, as if conversation has been broken off. English adopted it in the late 1500s, drawing on both the Latin and French forms. The same rumpere root breaks through in many relatives such as 'rupture', 'interrupt', 'erupt', and 'bankrupt', and noticing that shared 'rupt' spelling helps fix the single p and the t at the end.

How the word is built

• ab- (off, away)
• rupt (from Latin rumpere: to break)