abrupt

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. sudden, precipitate, short, curt; steep, precipitous, sheer; sudden or sharp (turn, etc.); jerky. See instantaneity.Ant., gradual.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [ Said of things, usually landscape ]

Syn. steep, precipitate, sheer, precipitous, sudden, sharp, angular, craggy, unexpected, uneven, rough, rugged, irregular, jagged, perpendicular, straight up, straight down, without a break, vertical, headlong, zigzag, broken, uphill, downhill, falling, bluffy.

Ant. level*, flat, horizontal.

2. [ Said of people or acts of people ]

Syn. rough, blunt, short, terse, brusque, unceremonious, sudden, hasty, hurried, precipitate, impetuous, uncivil, gruff, impolite, curt, bluff, ungracious, rude, crude, uncomplaisant, downright, outspoken, direct, unexpected, to the point, matter-of-fact, discourteous, sharp, snippy*; see also blunt 2 .

Ant. polite*, ceremonious, gracious.

Syn.- abrupt implies a sharp degree of inclination in a surface breaking off suddenly from the level [ an abrupt bank at the river's edge ] ; steep suggests such sharpness of rise or slope as to make ascent or descent very difficult [ a steep hill ] ; precipitous suggests the sudden and headlong drop of a precipice [ a precipitous height ] ; sheer applies to that which is perpendicular, or almost so, and unbroken throughout its length [ cliffs falling sheer to the sea, a sheer drop from the sixth floor ] See also Synonym Study at sudden .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. sudden unexpected, surprising, unforeseen, swift, precipitate, unanticipated.

2. curt gruff, brusque, brisk, discourteous, rude.

3. steep sheer, precipitous.

ANT.: 1. anticipated, expected. 2. courteous, polite, gracious

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Happening quickly and without warning: hurried, precipitant, precipitate, sudden. See FAST, SURPRISE. 2. Rudely unceremonious: blunt, brief, brusque, crusty, curt, gruff, short, short-spoken. See ATTITUDE. 3. So sharply inclined as to be almost perpendicular: bold, precipitous, sheer2, steep1. See HORIZONTAL.