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brusque

UK/bɹʊsk/US/bɹʌsk/
adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,110 of 15,258neutral

Brusque means abrupt to the point of rudeness. A brusque reply.

It is about manner rather than content, so a brusque yes is still a yes. Brusque is forgiven in somebody busy and never in anybody serving you.

Definitions of brusque

  1. 1adjectivebrusqueAbrupt to the point of rudeness.C2

    “The brusque answer ended the conversation entirely.”

brusque is a quality.

Where it comes from

From Italian brusco, meaning sour, tart, unripe. It was a word for a taste before it was a word for a manner — and a brusque reply lands much the same way.

  1. Italian

    brusco — abrupt, sudden, brusque; brisk; eager; sour, tart; unripe; grim-looking

  2. French

    brusque

  3. English, today

    brusque

The adjective is borrowed from French brusque, from Italian brusco (“abrupt, sudden, brusque; brisk; eager; sour, tart; unripe; grim-looking”); further unknown. The verb is derived from the adjective.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 19 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

brusque in the wild

  • Smith became chief of staff to Eisenhower at AFHQ in September 1942 and acquired a reputation as Eisenhower's "hatchet man" for his brusque and demanding manner.

    Walter Bedell Smith

  • Kong is a prominent and controversial Chinese media figure, known for his vulgar and often brusque critiques on political issues and various individuals and groups.

    Kong Qingdong

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.