abruptadj.n.

Brit.

/əˈbrʌpt/, U.S.

/əˈbrəpt/

Forms: 1500s–1600s abrupte, 1500s– abrupt.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin abruptus.

Etymology: < classical Latin abruptus precipitous, sheer, steep, uncompromising, haughty, aloof, cut too short, over-brief, short-lived, sudden, precipitate, in post-classical Latin also violent, excessive (3rd cent.), use as adjective of past participle of abrumpere to break, to break or burst apart, to rupture, to sever, to interrupt, to break off short, to put an end to, to cut off, to separate, to detach, to break, to violate < ab- ab- prefix + rumpere to break (see rumpent n.). With use as noun compare classical Latin abruptum steep ascent or descent, use as noun of neuter of abruptus . Compare Middle French, French abrupt , adjective (1512, earliest in sense ‘(of a voice) hoarse’ (which is apparently unparalleled in Latin), although earlier currency is probably implied by the adverb abruptement (see abruptly adv.), which is attested in an early 16th-cent. manuscript of a 14th-cent. text), and also Spanish abrupto (1589).

A. adj.

†a. Broken off, truncated, cut short; terminating in a break. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [adjective] > ending in a sudden break

abrupt1565

1565 J. Rastell Replie Def. Truth viii. f. 152 Gelasius in that selfe same abrupt and short sentence, doth expresselye declare, that [etc.].

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 17 The voyce of Serpents..differeth from all other beasts hyssing, in the length thereof: for the hyssing of a Torteise is shorter and more abrupt.

1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. vii. xxxix. 366/2 The Circle of their lines [read: lives] are oftentimes abrupt, before it be drawn to the full round.

1634 M. Wilson Mercy & Truth i. ii. 45 Of Ecclesiastes he [sc. Luther] saith: This booke is not full; there are in it many abrupt things.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Amianthus The bodies of it are flexile and elastic, and composed of short and abrupt filaments.

1790 E. Malone Note on Winter's Tale in Plays & Poems Shakspeare IV. 141 In the original copy there is a comma at the end of Camillo's speech, to denote an abrupt speech.

b. Botany. Of part of a plant: coming to a sudden termination; not gradually tapering. Also: (of a pinnate leaf) not terminated by an intermediate leaflet (now rare).

ΚΠ

1754 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. III. 2440/1 The pinnated abrupt leaf..: this expresses a pinnated leaf, in which there is neither an odd leaf, nor a tendril at the end of the petiole.

1773 W. Hanbury Compl. Body Planting & Gardening I. p. vi/2 When a leaf of this kind is terminated by two folioles, it is said to be abrupt.

1807 J. E. Smith Bot. 107 Abrupt Root,..from some decay or interruption in its descending point, it becomes abrupt, or as it were bitten off.

1854 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. 395 The Tulip-tree, remarkable for its abrupt or truncated leaves.

1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 508 The following forms [of apex] prevail in the leaves of deciduous trees: Acute, an apex which forms an acute angle... Mucronate, tipped with an abrupt short point.

1957 Fassett's Man. Aquatic Plants (rev. ed.) 55 The petioles are upright, with an abrupt joint at the summit which allows the broad brownish-green blade to float on the surface.

1994 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 81 1129/1 They are small and taper to an abrupt point.

†c. Geology. Of a stratum: that has been cut through and is now exposed at the side of a valley, crater, or other structure. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1808 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 98 188 The stratification of the whole is perfectly visible, and the nature of the several strata laid open to us at their abrupt and precipitous terminations.

1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 197 The Meerfelder Maar is a cavity of far greater size..the sides presenting some abrupt sections of inclined secondary rocks.

†2. Of literary style: disjointed, not flowing smoothly; passing suddenly from one thought or phrase to another. Of speech or writing: exhibiting or typical of such a style. Obsolete.In later use merged in sense A. 3a.

ΚΠ

1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie iv. f. 175 The beginning of the place is some what abrupte and imperfect. Yet the wordes do euidentlye geue to vnderstande that [etc.].

1584 J. Rainolds & J. Hart Summe of Conf. ii. 98 The text is not alwaies knitte and coherent to it selfe; the very order of speaking is oftentimes abrupt, sometimes preposterous altogither.

a1637 B. Jonson Timber 1975 in Wks. (1640) III The abrupt style, which hath many breaches, and doth not seeme to end, but fall.

1731 E. Aspinwall Apology vii. 275 The Eastern compositions of old were not so order'd as to form a continu'd thread of discourse, but that they were an abrupt and broken method of writing.

1797 J. Warton Wks. A. Pope V. 200 Settle..passes from character to character in a very abrupt incoherent manner.

1843 B. Sears et al. Classical Stud. viii. 293 He transformed its [sc. Latin's] loose and abrupt style into one more compact and flowing.

1877 W. Sparrow Serm. vii. 93 In short, he is abrupt, in order to awake attention, and give it a right direction.

a. Esp. of change or movement: occurring suddenly, unexpectedly, or without warning; sharp; precipitate, hasty. In later use also: characterized by sudden action, change, speech, etc.; spasmodic, jerky.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > suddenness > [adjective]

ferlyc893

sudden1340

subitane?a1425

subite?1483

starting1545

plunging1566

abrupt1576

subitany1603

subitaneous1645

surprising1645

subitous1657

extempore1755

extemporary1761

the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > acting with haste > hasty or hurried

hastivea1325

raplyc1390

runninga1400

rapec1410

precipitate1545

hasty1560

abrupt1576

festinate1598

breathless1606

hasteful1610

precipitatedc1625

arreptitious1653

hurried1667

prerupt1727

hurry-scurry1732

rush1879

rushed1888

scampered1894

rush-round1903

rushy1976

drive-by1992

the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adjective]

ferlyc893

cofc1000

swiftc1000

smarta1325

suddenc1390

undelayed1439

wightlaykec1450

short1480

present1489

indelayed1523

on or upon a (or the) sudden1558

immediate1569

instant1598

momentaneous1657

abrupt1725

presto1767

summary1771

momentary1799

pistolgraph1859

fast1863

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [adjective] > surprising, unexpected

unbeweena1325

sudden1340

unhopedc1374

unwarec1374

unweenedc1374

unguessedc1400

unlooked for1531

untraisted1533

extonious1548

unlooked1548

unthought1548

unwares1548

unaspected1578

inexpecteda1586

unexpecteda1586

unwary1590

unwaited1592

unmistrusted1595

inopinate1598

unforethought1601

nap-taking1602

startling1609

expectless1613

unexpect1633

admirable1639

immergent1655

unpresumed1686

abrupt1725

unguessed1746

unanticipateda1779

unpredicted1792

unprecipitated1795

unsurmised1820

unsupposed1821

inopine1880

windfall1945

over-the-transom1952

left field1955

conversation-stopping1960

1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Argt. 323 Lastly, hee lamenteth the miserable case of learning..: this being done, hee maketh an abrupt conclusion.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Gg6^v Yet lest to abrupt falling into it, shoulde yeelde too great aduantage vnto her, shee thought good to come to it by degrees with this kind of insinuation.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. iii. 29 My Lady craues, To know the cause of your abrupt departure?

1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 90 He was rapp'd and hurried into another world by an abrupt and untimely death.

1700 G. Farquhar Constant Couple i. 7 I hope you'll pardon this abrupt Departure of, Gentlemen, your most Devoted, and most Faithful humble Servant.

1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 413 Abrupt, with eagle-speed she cut the sky; Instant invisible to mortal eye.

a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) 28 The Concern of my Friends in Boston at my abrupt Departure.

1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 18 A shout from the whole multitude arose, That lingered in the air like dying rolls Of abrupt thunder.

1850 H. Miller Scenes & Legends N. Scotl. (ed. 2) xxviii. 420 The motions of the vessel were so fearfully abrupt and violent.

1889 Chambers's Jrnl. 9 Nov. 725/2 She came to an abrupt halt.

1912 W. B. Yeats in Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 245 I have just been talking to a girl with a shrill monotonous voice and an abrupt way of moving.

1959 Times 20 Feb. 8/2 If he did not mislead the Prime-Minister, his abrupt about-face was certainly disconcerting.

1990 P. Auster Music of Chance vii. 170 ‘Just beat it,’ Nashe said, rattling the fence with an abrupt, impatient gesture.

2007 Science 27 Apr. 527/3 Another study has strengthened the linkage between massive volcanism in the Caribbean and an abrupt transformation of the oceans 94 million years ago.

b. Of a person or a person's manner: curt or brusque, esp. to the point of rudeness; bluff, direct, unceremonious. Cf. short adj. 10a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [adjective] > curt or brusque

short1390

cutted1530

snappish1542

abrupt1578

stunt1581

blunt1590

brusquea1639

snapping1642

blatec1650

brisk1665

bluff1705

offhand1708

prerupt1727

squab1737

prompt1768

crisp1814

brief1818

stuntya1825

curt1831

snappy1834

bluffy1844

nebby1873

offhandish1886

nebsy1894

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 20 It is your beautie (pardon my abrupte boldenesse) Ladye that hath taken euery part of mee prisoner.

1608 T. Middleton Famelie of Love iii. i Now must we be abrupt; retyre sweet friend To thy small ease; what more remaines to do, Wee'l consumate at our next enteruiew.

1661 Princess Cloria ii. 222 The Damosel..in an abrupt manner told her, though softly in her ear, that her new guest was no other but her Brother Ascanius, broke from his imprisonment under the Senates jurisdiction.

1729 H. Carey Blunderella 14 While all were with her Musick pleas'd, But she who had the Charmer teaz'd; Who, rude, unmanner'd, and abrupt! Did thus Belinda interrupt.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. ii. 15 Jones..was incapable of any rude or abrupt Behaviour to a Lady.

1816 J. Austen Emma I. iv. 64 Mr. Martin is now awkward and abrupt; what will he be at Mr. Weston's time of life?

1879 H. James Confidence I. xvi. 247 She was, in spite of many attractive points, an abrupt and capricious young woman.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 562/1 His straightforward, abrupt manner savoured sometimes of gruffness.

1957 M. McCarthy in New Yorker 28 Feb. 32/1 Within the classroom, she was unaltered, patient, and even kindly in her arid, abrupt way.

2001 A. Dangor Bitter Fruit (2004) vii. 87 Sorry about that, liefie, I didn't mean to be so abrupt.

†4. That has broken away from restraint; abandoned, dissolute. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [adjective] > reprobate

ungracious?c1225

gracelessc1400

reprobate1557

abrupt1583

perditious1600

perdite1625

deperdit1641

castaway1818

1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Biii Yet is there not a people more abrupte, wicked, or peruerse, liuing vpon the face of the earth.

5. Of a mountain, slope, rock face, etc.: precipitous, steep. Also: (of terrain) characterized by sharp relief, rugged, jagged.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > slope > [adjective] > steep

stickleOE

steepc1175

shore14..

steyc1480

proclive1524

steeping1530

brant1545

steepy1565

abrupt1591

dreich1597

downsteepy1603

acclive1616

arduous1711

sharp1725

acclivous1730

rapid1785

declivitous1799

acclivitous1803

scarped1823

proclivitous1860

stoss1878

resequent1906

1591 A. Fraunce Countesse of Pembrokes Yuychurch i. sig. E4^v Then did he leade me along to a steepe and horrible hill topp, All abrupt and rough, and made soe feareful a downefall, That my lyms all quakt, when I lookt fro the hill to the valley.

1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 74 Abrupt and wilesome hilly places, full of broken and nybled stones, mounting vppe into the ayre, as high as a man might looke to.

1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. ii. xii. 190 [He] wall'd Macedonia euery where in..by planting castels in abrupt places.

1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. i. 5 It is inuironed on euerie side from Sea to Sea, with abrupt, and high Mountaines.

1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur i. 7 At th' Adamantine Door vast Hills are thrown, And abrupt Rocks of Ice, pil'd sevenfold on.

1749 U. ap Rhys Tour Spain & Portugal 52 The Soil..is dry and barren, and contiguous to very high and abrupt Mountains.

1823 J. Rutter Delineations of Fonthill 2 Across this valley is an abrupt ridge.

c1854 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) iii. 167 I do not mean that the ravines of Jerusalem are so deep and abrupt as those of Luxembourg.

1890 Daily News 26 Dec. 7/1 The new line..passes through what the contractor's agent calls ‘abrupt’ country. That means to him a series of deep cuttings and steep embankments.

1924 Geogr. Rev. 14 89 In the mountains tributary hanging valleys offer abrupt descents to the major valleys.

1969 J. Fowles French Lieutenant's Woman x. 70 If one flies low enough one can see that the terrain is very abrupt, cut by deep chasms and accented by strange bluffs.

1998 G. Vidal Smithsonian Institution iii. 61 Indian villages were built against—or into—the sides of abrupt hills whose tops were flat.

†B. n.

An abrupt or steep place; a precipice; a chasm, an abyss. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > cliff > [noun]

cliffOE

cleoa1300

cleevec1300

rochec1300

clougha1400

heugha1400

brackc1530

clift1567

perpendicular1604

precipice1607

precipe1615

precipit1623

abrupt1624

scar1673

bluff1687

rock wall1755

krantz1785

linn1799

scarp1802

scaur1805

escarpment1815

rock face1820

escarp1856

hag1868

glint1906

scarping1909

stone-cliff1912

ledra1942

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] > chasm or cleft

chinec1050

earth-chinea1300

kinc1330

chimneyc1374

haga1400

riftc1400

refta1425

dungeonc1475

rupturec1487

gaping1539

rent1603

chasm1621

abrupt1624

hiulcitya1681

clove1779

score1790

strid1862

fent1878

1624 E. Bolton Nero Caesar xxix. 215 The stop of this flaming desolation was procured..by casting to the earth a great number of houses, ouer whose breach the flames could not stride to the abrupt.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 409 Upborn with indefatigable wings Over the vast abrupt, ere he arrive The happy Ile.

1735 J. Thomson Antient & Mod. Italy Compared: 1st Pt. Liberty 314 Whole stately Cities in the dark Abrupt Swallow'd at once.

1735 J. Thomson Rome: 3rd Pt. Liberty 525 When the whole loaded Heaven Descends in Snow, lost in one white Abrupt.

1797 P. Howard Scriptural Hist. Earth iv. 302 When the waters began to settle, running with violence from those heights they worked the shores beneath into abrupts and precipices.

1887 W. C. Russell Frozen Pirate I. vi. 73 It was like the face of a cliff, a sheer abrupt.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	abrupt
释义	abruptadj.n. Brit. /əˈbrʌpt/, U.S. /əˈbrəpt/ Forms: 1500s–1600s abrupte, 1500s– abrupt. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin abruptus. Etymology: < classical Latin abruptus precipitous, sheer, steep, uncompromising, haughty, aloof, cut too short, over-brief, short-lived, sudden, precipitate, in post-classical Latin also violent, excessive (3rd cent.), use as adjective of past participle of abrumpere to break, to break or burst apart, to rupture, to sever, to interrupt, to break off short, to put an end to, to cut off, to separate, to detach, to break, to violate < ab- ab- prefix + rumpere to break (see rumpent n.). With use as noun compare classical Latin abruptum steep ascent or descent, use as noun of neuter of abruptus . Compare Middle French, French abrupt , adjective (1512, earliest in sense ‘(of a voice) hoarse’ (which is apparently unparalleled in Latin), although earlier currency is probably implied by the adverb abruptement (see abruptly adv.), which is attested in an early 16th-cent. manuscript of a 14th-cent. text), and also Spanish abrupto (1589). A. adj. 1. †a. Broken off, truncated, cut short; terminating in a break. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [adjective] > ending in a sudden break abrupt1565 1565 J. Rastell Replie Def. Truth viii. f. 152 Gelasius in that selfe same abrupt and short sentence, doth expresselye declare, that [etc.]. 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 17 The voyce of Serpents..differeth from all other beasts hyssing, in the length thereof: for the hyssing of a Torteise is shorter and more abrupt. 1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. vii. xxxix. 366/2 The Circle of their lines [read: lives] are oftentimes abrupt, before it be drawn to the full round. 1634 M. Wilson Mercy & Truth i. ii. 45 Of Ecclesiastes he [sc. Luther] saith: This booke is not full; there are in it many abrupt things. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Amianthus The bodies of it are flexile and elastic, and composed of short and abrupt filaments. 1790 E. Malone Note on Winter's Tale in Plays & Poems Shakspeare IV. 141 In the original copy there is a comma at the end of Camillo's speech, to denote an abrupt speech. b. Botany. Of part of a plant: coming to a sudden termination; not gradually tapering. Also: (of a pinnate leaf) not terminated by an intermediate leaflet (now rare). ΚΠ 1754 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. III. 2440/1 The pinnated abrupt leaf..: this expresses a pinnated leaf, in which there is neither an odd leaf, nor a tendril at the end of the petiole. 1773 W. Hanbury Compl. Body Planting & Gardening I. p. vi/2 When a leaf of this kind is terminated by two folioles, it is said to be abrupt. 1807 J. E. Smith Bot. 107 Abrupt Root,..from some decay or interruption in its descending point, it becomes abrupt, or as it were bitten off. 1854 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. 395 The Tulip-tree, remarkable for its abrupt or truncated leaves. 1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 508 The following forms [of apex] prevail in the leaves of deciduous trees: Acute, an apex which forms an acute angle... Mucronate, tipped with an abrupt short point. 1957 Fassett's Man. Aquatic Plants (rev. ed.) 55 The petioles are upright, with an abrupt joint at the summit which allows the broad brownish-green blade to float on the surface. 1994 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 81 1129/1 They are small and taper to an abrupt point. †c. Geology. Of a stratum: that has been cut through and is now exposed at the side of a valley, crater, or other structure. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1808 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 98 188 The stratification of the whole is perfectly visible, and the nature of the several strata laid open to us at their abrupt and precipitous terminations. 1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 197 The Meerfelder Maar is a cavity of far greater size..the sides presenting some abrupt sections of inclined secondary rocks. †2. Of literary style: disjointed, not flowing smoothly; passing suddenly from one thought or phrase to another. Of speech or writing: exhibiting or typical of such a style. Obsolete.In later use merged in sense A. 3a. ΚΠ 1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie iv. f. 175 The beginning of the place is some what abrupte and imperfect. Yet the wordes do euidentlye geue to vnderstande that [etc.]. 1584 J. Rainolds & J. Hart Summe of Conf. ii. 98 The text is not alwaies knitte and coherent to it selfe; the very order of speaking is oftentimes abrupt, sometimes preposterous altogither. a1637 B. Jonson Timber 1975 in Wks. (1640) III The abrupt style, which hath many breaches, and doth not seeme to end, but fall. 1731 E. Aspinwall Apology vii. 275 The Eastern compositions of old were not so order'd as to form a continu'd thread of discourse, but that they were an abrupt and broken method of writing. 1797 J. Warton Wks. A. Pope V. 200 Settle..passes from character to character in a very abrupt incoherent manner. 1843 B. Sears et al. Classical Stud. viii. 293 He transformed its [sc. Latin's] loose and abrupt style into one more compact and flowing. 1877 W. Sparrow Serm. vii. 93 In short, he is abrupt, in order to awake attention, and give it a right direction. 3. a. Esp. of change or movement: occurring suddenly, unexpectedly, or without warning; sharp; precipitate, hasty. In later use also: characterized by sudden action, change, speech, etc.; spasmodic, jerky. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > suddenness > [adjective] ferlyc893 sudden1340 subitane?a1425 subite?1483 starting1545 plunging1566 abrupt1576 subitany1603 subitaneous1645 surprising1645 subitous1657 extempore1755 extemporary1761 the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > acting with haste > hasty or hurried hastivea1325 raplyc1390 runninga1400 rapec1410 precipitate1545 hasty1560 abrupt1576 festinate1598 breathless1606 hasteful1610 precipitatedc1625 arreptitious1653 hurried1667 prerupt1727 hurry-scurry1732 rush1879 rushed1888 scampered1894 rush-round1903 rushy1976 drive-by1992 the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adjective] ferlyc893 cofc1000 swiftc1000 smarta1325 suddenc1390 undelayed1439 wightlaykec1450 short1480 present1489 indelayed1523 on or upon a (or the) sudden1558 immediate1569 instant1598 momentaneous1657 abrupt1725 presto1767 summary1771 momentary1799 pistolgraph1859 fast1863 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [adjective] > surprising, unexpected unbeweena1325 sudden1340 unhopedc1374 unwarec1374 unweenedc1374 unguessedc1400 unlooked for1531 untraisted1533 extonious1548 unlooked1548 unthought1548 unwares1548 unaspected1578 inexpecteda1586 unexpecteda1586 unwary1590 unwaited1592 unmistrusted1595 inopinate1598 unforethought1601 nap-taking1602 startling1609 expectless1613 unexpect1633 admirable1639 immergent1655 unpresumed1686 abrupt1725 unguessed1746 unanticipateda1779 unpredicted1792 unprecipitated1795 unsurmised1820 unsupposed1821 inopine1880 windfall1945 over-the-transom1952 left field1955 conversation-stopping1960 1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Argt. 323 Lastly, hee lamenteth the miserable case of learning..: this being done, hee maketh an abrupt conclusion. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Gg6^v Yet lest to abrupt falling into it, shoulde yeelde too great aduantage vnto her, shee thought good to come to it by degrees with this kind of insinuation. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. iii. 29 My Lady craues, To know the cause of your abrupt departure? View more context for this quotation 1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 90 He was rapp'd and hurried into another world by an abrupt and untimely death. 1700 G. Farquhar Constant Couple i. 7 I hope you'll pardon this abrupt Departure of, Gentlemen, your most Devoted, and most Faithful humble Servant. 1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 413 Abrupt, with eagle-speed she cut the sky; Instant invisible to mortal eye. a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) 28 The Concern of my Friends in Boston at my abrupt Departure. 1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 18 A shout from the whole multitude arose, That lingered in the air like dying rolls Of abrupt thunder. 1850 H. Miller Scenes & Legends N. Scotl. (ed. 2) xxviii. 420 The motions of the vessel were so fearfully abrupt and violent. 1889 Chambers's Jrnl. 9 Nov. 725/2 She came to an abrupt halt. 1912 W. B. Yeats in Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 245 I have just been talking to a girl with a shrill monotonous voice and an abrupt way of moving. 1959 Times 20 Feb. 8/2 If he did not mislead the Prime-Minister, his abrupt about-face was certainly disconcerting. 1990 P. Auster Music of Chance vii. 170 ‘Just beat it,’ Nashe said, rattling the fence with an abrupt, impatient gesture. 2007 Science 27 Apr. 527/3 Another study has strengthened the linkage between massive volcanism in the Caribbean and an abrupt transformation of the oceans 94 million years ago. b. Of a person or a person's manner: curt or brusque, esp. to the point of rudeness; bluff, direct, unceremonious. Cf. short adj. 10a. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [adjective] > curt or brusque short1390 cutted1530 snappish1542 abrupt1578 stunt1581 blunt1590 brusquea1639 snapping1642 blatec1650 brisk1665 bluff1705 offhand1708 prerupt1727 squab1737 prompt1768 crisp1814 brief1818 stuntya1825 curt1831 snappy1834 bluffy1844 nebby1873 offhandish1886 nebsy1894 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 20 It is your beautie (pardon my abrupte boldenesse) Ladye that hath taken euery part of mee prisoner. 1608 T. Middleton Famelie of Love iii. i Now must we be abrupt; retyre sweet friend To thy small ease; what more remaines to do, Wee'l consumate at our next enteruiew. 1661 Princess Cloria ii. 222 The Damosel..in an abrupt manner told her, though softly in her ear, that her new guest was no other but her Brother Ascanius, broke from his imprisonment under the Senates jurisdiction. 1729 H. Carey Blunderella 14 While all were with her Musick pleas'd, But she who had the Charmer teaz'd; Who, rude, unmanner'd, and abrupt! Did thus Belinda interrupt. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. ii. 15 Jones..was incapable of any rude or abrupt Behaviour to a Lady. View more context for this quotation 1816 J. Austen Emma I. iv. 64 Mr. Martin is now awkward and abrupt; what will he be at Mr. Weston's time of life? View more context for this quotation 1879 H. James Confidence I. xvi. 247 She was, in spite of many attractive points, an abrupt and capricious young woman. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 562/1 His straightforward, abrupt manner savoured sometimes of gruffness. 1957 M. McCarthy in New Yorker 28 Feb. 32/1 Within the classroom, she was unaltered, patient, and even kindly in her arid, abrupt way. 2001 A. Dangor Bitter Fruit (2004) vii. 87 Sorry about that, liefie, I didn't mean to be so abrupt. †4. That has broken away from restraint; abandoned, dissolute. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [adjective] > reprobate ungracious?c1225 gracelessc1400 reprobate1557 abrupt1583 perditious1600 perdite1625 deperdit1641 castaway1818 1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Biii Yet is there not a people more abrupte, wicked, or peruerse, liuing vpon the face of the earth. 5. Of a mountain, slope, rock face, etc.: precipitous, steep. Also: (of terrain) characterized by sharp relief, rugged, jagged. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > slope > [adjective] > steep stickleOE steepc1175 shore14.. steyc1480 proclive1524 steeping1530 brant1545 steepy1565 abrupt1591 dreich1597 downsteepy1603 acclive1616 arduous1711 sharp1725 acclivous1730 rapid1785 declivitous1799 acclivitous1803 scarped1823 proclivitous1860 stoss1878 resequent1906 1591 A. Fraunce Countesse of Pembrokes Yuychurch i. sig. E4^v Then did he leade me along to a steepe and horrible hill topp, All abrupt and rough, and made soe feareful a downefall, That my lyms all quakt, when I lookt fro the hill to the valley. 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 74 Abrupt and wilesome hilly places, full of broken and nybled stones, mounting vppe into the ayre, as high as a man might looke to. 1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. ii. xii. 190 [He] wall'd Macedonia euery where in..by planting castels in abrupt places. 1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. i. 5 It is inuironed on euerie side from Sea to Sea, with abrupt, and high Mountaines. 1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur i. 7 At th' Adamantine Door vast Hills are thrown, And abrupt Rocks of Ice, pil'd sevenfold on. 1749 U. ap Rhys Tour Spain & Portugal 52 The Soil..is dry and barren, and contiguous to very high and abrupt Mountains. 1823 J. Rutter Delineations of Fonthill 2 Across this valley is an abrupt ridge. c1854 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) iii. 167 I do not mean that the ravines of Jerusalem are so deep and abrupt as those of Luxembourg. 1890 Daily News 26 Dec. 7/1 The new line..passes through what the contractor's agent calls ‘abrupt’ country. That means to him a series of deep cuttings and steep embankments. 1924 Geogr. Rev. 14 89 In the mountains tributary hanging valleys offer abrupt descents to the major valleys. 1969 J. Fowles French Lieutenant's Woman x. 70 If one flies low enough one can see that the terrain is very abrupt, cut by deep chasms and accented by strange bluffs. 1998 G. Vidal Smithsonian Institution iii. 61 Indian villages were built against—or into—the sides of abrupt hills whose tops were flat. †B. n. An abrupt or steep place; a precipice; a chasm, an abyss. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > cliff > [noun] cliffOE cleoa1300 cleevec1300 rochec1300 clougha1400 heugha1400 brackc1530 clift1567 perpendicular1604 precipice1607 precipe1615 precipit1623 abrupt1624 scar1673 bluff1687 rock wall1755 krantz1785 linn1799 scarp1802 scaur1805 escarpment1815 rock face1820 escarp1856 hag1868 glint1906 scarping1909 stone-cliff1912 ledra1942 the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] > chasm or cleft chinec1050 earth-chinea1300 kinc1330 chimneyc1374 haga1400 riftc1400 refta1425 dungeonc1475 rupturec1487 gaping1539 rent1603 chasm1621 abrupt1624 hiulcitya1681 clove1779 score1790 strid1862 fent1878 1624 E. Bolton Nero Caesar xxix. 215 The stop of this flaming desolation was procured..by casting to the earth a great number of houses, ouer whose breach the flames could not stride to the abrupt. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 409 Upborn with indefatigable wings Over the vast abrupt, ere he arrive The happy Ile. View more context for this quotation 1735 J. Thomson Antient & Mod. Italy Compared: 1st Pt. Liberty 314 Whole stately Cities in the dark Abrupt Swallow'd at once. 1735 J. Thomson Rome: 3rd Pt. Liberty 525 When the whole loaded Heaven Descends in Snow, lost in one white Abrupt. 1797 P. Howard Scriptural Hist. Earth iv. 302 When the waters began to settle, running with violence from those heights they worked the shores beneath into abrupts and precipices. 1887 W. C. Russell Frozen Pirate I. vi. 73 It was like the face of a cliff, a sheer abrupt. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022). abruptv. Brit. /əˈbrʌpt/, U.S. /əˈbrəpt/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin abrupt-, abrumpere. Etymology: < classical Latin abrupt-, past participial stem of abrumpere (see abrupt adj. and n.). Compare earlier abrupt adj., abrupted adj., abruption n. Chiefly formal and literary. transitive. To break off, to sever; to interrupt suddenly; to curtail. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > break the continuity of or interrupt [verb (transitive)] > break off suddenly abrupt1634 short-circuit1924 1634 M. Casaubon tr. M. Aurelius Meditations viii. 138 And as by any solid body, that it [sc. the sun's ray] meetes with in the way that is not penetrable by ayre, it is divided and abrupted. 1635 W. Jones Comm. Epist. St. Paul 522 I cannot spend my whole time in writing: therefore I must needs abrupt my course, and contract them in a narrow roome. 1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §13. 28 Buzzing thy prayses, which shall never die Till death abrupts them. View more context for this quotation a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) iii. 92 The insecurity of their enjoyments abrupteth our Tranquilities. 1764 D. Fenning Young Man's Bk. Knowl. iv. 282 An Echo is caused by the vibrating Air being abrupted in its Passage. 1819 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 5 737/2 This gas obtains in greatest abundance in the vicinity of dykes which abrupt the coal. 1823 A. Atkinson Irel. exhibited to Eng. I. iv. 377 The mountains, all suddenly abrupted on their eastern face, shewed clearly the nature and disposition of the strata. 1949 ‘M. Innes’ Journeying Boy xi. 130 But to abrupt his journey in a strange town..was a procedure..unnecessarily drastic. 1958 Observer 29 June 15/6 The film version of ‘The Brothers Karamazov’..does not deliberately distort the novel or abrupt it. 1995 Amer. Lit. Hist. 7 360 Figures that traverse various films, breaking context, abrupting narrative interpretation, generating parallel universes of sense. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.n.1565v.1634
随便看	unasinous unask unaskable unasked unasking unaspected unaspective unaspied unaspirated unaspiring unaspiringness unass unassailabilities unassailability unassailable unassailableness unassailablenesses unassailably unassailed unassassinated unassaultable unassaulted unassayed unassenting unasserted

abruptadj.n.

abruptv.