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ABRUPTNESS
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An abrupt discourteous manner
Synonyms:
abruptness; brusqueness; curtness; gruffness; shortness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("abruptness" is a kind of...):
discourtesy; rudeness (a manner that is rude and insulting)
Derivation:
abrupt (surprisingly and unceremoniously brusque in manner)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning
Synonyms:
abruptness; precipitance; precipitancy; precipitateness; precipitousness; suddenness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("abruptness" is a kind of...):
haste; hastiness; hurriedness; hurry; precipitation (overly eager speed (and possible carelessness))
Derivation:
abrupt (exceedingly sudden and unexpected)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The property possessed by a slope that is very steep
Synonyms:
abruptness; precipitousness; steepness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("abruptness" is a kind of...):
gradient; slope (the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal)
Antonym:
gradualness (the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual)
Derivation:
abrupt (extremely steep)
Context examples:
He halted with awkward abruptness, with stiff fore-legs bracing himself against his momentum, almost sitting down on his haunches, so desirous was he of avoiding contact with the dog he was in the act of attacking.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Her face might have been a dead-wall on the occasion in question, for any light it threw upon her thoughts; until she broke silence with her usual abruptness.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
They gradually ascended for half-a-mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
