abrupt
1
4.7
- adjective
- /əˈbrʌpt/
- It had an abrupt drop at the start of the gorge known as 'The Deer's Leap' because deer were meant to have leapt across it.
Examples
-
Directly before me is Candia—abrupt mountains rising sharply from the sea and crowned with snow.
Blog text (22) -
Dave thought—then Doug wrenched the van around, brakes screaming in an abrupt right-angle turn.
Fiction book (1990) -
I am not surprised by the abrupt drop in capacity early in the product life.
Blog text (21) -
So you would have to enter the building and take an abrupt left to see that statue.
-
A few abrupt turns brought us to a closed alley and a pub sign.
Fiction book (1990) -
We've experienced a slight but abrupt drop in cabin pressure.
-
The result is hard lighting where transitions from highlight to shadow are abrupt.
Blog text (6) -
When the fog lifts, the abrupt drop to the ocean becomes steeper and more hypnotic.
Academic text (2010) -
Redmond also noted that the land was "moderately undulating" with several abrupt hillsides.
Academic text (2015) -
The hikers were careful as they approached the mountain's abrupt cliffs, which dropped sharply into the valley below.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Happening quickly and without warning
148
2.5
Having a very sharp slope or almost vertical angle
84
2.0
A sudden large change in amount or level
3
7.7
A very steep slope like a cliff that is dangerous to climb
1
4.3
A thing with sides that rise almost straight up
Antonyms
How Steep
Surface Forms
Morphology
abrupt = ab + rupt
Although historically analyzable as ab- + rupt, 'rupt' is not a standalone English word and the meaning is not transparently recoverable by an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Abrupt comes from ab- ('away') and rupt ('break'), like land that looks 'broken off' from the ground. That image explains why abrupt can describe a very steep or sudden drop.