[ US /əˈbɹəpt/ ]
[ UK /ɐbɹˈʌpt/ ]
ADJECTIVE
  1. extremely steep
    a sharp drop
    the precipitous hills of Chinese paintings
    an abrupt canyon
    the precipitous rapids of the upper river
  2. exceedingly sudden and unexpected
    an abrupt change in the weather
    came to an abrupt stop
  3. marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
    abrupt prose
  4. surprisingly and unceremoniously brusque in manner
    an abrupt reply
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How To Use abrupt In A Sentence

  • The abrupt facies shift, bioturbation and cemented nature of the surfaces suggests that they represent marine flooding surfaces, formed during a rapid rise in relative sea level and/or a reduction in sediment supply.
  • The driver braked abruptly, causing the car to skid a little.
  • What links the eyes of these three coffins, beside the fact that all are painted, is that the inner canthus--the corner of the eye near the nose--descends abruptly and abuts the upper lid, giving them an East Asian appearance. Archive 2008-03-01
  • Retirement is likely to move from an abrupt halt at a fixed age to a more gradual withdrawal, with the abolition of compulsory retirement ages. Times, Sunday Times
  • At the end of an hour, the ascent becoming every moment more abrupt, we had passed the belt of trees and bushes, and reached the smooth and scoriaceous cone, which, during the rainy season, appears from the bay to be covered with a velvety mantle of green. The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 30, April, 1860
  • She looked taken aback for a second; the change of subject had been abrupt.
  • She walked abruptly to the door and pulled it back and ran to the railing where the carn fell away to the sea below. LET NOT THE DEEP
  • The U.S. S.ate Department Monday expressed surprise at the -- quote -- "abruptness" and said other countries face their own decisions on whether to stay or go. CNN Transcript Apr 19, 2004
  • All across the world, ...increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster. Barack Obama 
  • Corden's playing career ended abruptly when he smashed his knee on his debut for Darlington.
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