abruptly

[ uh-bruhpt-lee ]

adverb

1. without warning; suddenly or unexpectedly:

   Not noticing that the car in front of him had stopped abruptly, he rear-ended it.

2. in few words and without using any polite formulas; brusquely:

   My 14-year-old son was calling; as soon as I picked up, he asked abruptly, “How long till you get home?”

3. steeply; sharply:

   At one end, the meadow flowed into a large valley; at the other, it dropped off abruptly in a cliff.

Other Word Forms

• un·ab·rupt·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of abruptly¹

abrupt ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

"We call it a space weather event when the current gets stronger abruptly."

From Salon

It started on inauguration day, when Trump abruptly terminated four Biden administration humanitarian programs granting legal U.S. residence to applicants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela seeking asylum.

From Los Angeles Times

This administration is rapidly constructing a legal framework that would allow it to abruptly disappear anyone, including natural-born U.S. citizens, to a foreign prison forever, for any reason it chooses, or no reason at all.

From Salon

In the chaotic minutes after US President Donald Trump's administration abruptly reversed course and paused dozens of sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs, one man quickly became the public face of the decision: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

From BBC

But midweek, with U.S. stock markets in turmoil as the tariffs took effect, Trump abruptly changed course.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• all of a sudden
• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly