abrupt

Etymology

First attested in 1583. Borrowed from Latin abruptus (“broken off”), perfect passive participle of abrumpō (“break off”), formed from ab (“from, away from”) + rumpō (“to break”).

adj

1. (obsolete, rare) Broken away (from restraint).
2. Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious.
   The party came to an abrupt end when the parents of our host arrived.
   The cause of your abrupt departure. 1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI Part I, II-iii
   'Is it a slickstone?' she asks, and Maren snorts, an abrupt sound, bringing her hand up to her mouth. 28 January 2020, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Mercies, page 130
3. Curt in manner.
4. Having sudden transitions from one subject or state to another; unconnected; disjointed.
5. (obsolete) Broken off.
6. Extremely steep or craggy as if broken up; precipitous.
   The mazy-running brook Forms a deep pool; this bank abrupt and high.
   To the north the towering scree-strewn slopes of Saddleback begin to draw nearer as we start the abrupt descent towards Keswick. 1961 October, ""Voyageur"", “The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 601
7. (botany) Suddenly terminating, as if cut off; truncate.
   Root oblong, blackish, nearly the thickness of the little finger, often growing obliquely; abrupt at the lower end, so as to appear as if bitten off, furnished with long whitish fibres. 1839, William Baxter, British Phænogamous Botany, →OCLC

verb

1. (transitive, archaic) To tear off or asunder.
2. To interrupt suddenly.

noun

1. (poetic) Something which is abrupt; an abyss.