Abruptly

How to spell abruptly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce abruptly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does abruptly mean?

1. adverbIn a sudden and unexpected way, often without warning or smooth transition.

Abruptly in a sentence

• The meeting ended abruptly when the manager walked out.

• The road abruptly narrows just past the bridge.

Where does abruptly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb abrumpere, meaning 'to break off', which was formed from the prefix ab- ('off' or 'away') and the verb rumpere ('to break'). The past participle abruptus came to describe something broken away sharply, and so steep, sudden, or disconnected. English adopted the adjective 'abrupt' in the sixteenth century, first describing precipitous cliffs and broken-off edges before settling into the modern sense of something happening without warning. The adverb 'abruptly' was then built simply by adding the familiar -ly suffix. The same rumpere root survives in a whole family of English words about breaking, including 'rupture', 'interrupt', 'erupt', and 'corrupt', which is a useful clue to the rupt spelling at its core.

How the word is built

• ab- (off, away)
• rupt (root from Latin rumpere: to break)
• -ly (adverb suffix)