brusque Hear it!

brusque Definition

brusque (brusk; chiefly Brit bro̵̅o̅sk, bro̵osk)

adjective

rough and abrupt in manner or speech; curt
also brusk

Etymology: Fr < It brusco < ML bruscus, brushwood; prob. akin to brush, but infl. by It rusco < L ruscum, butcher's-broom

Related Forms:

brusque Synonyms

brusque

modif.

terse, blunt, abrupt, curt; see abrupt 2, blunt 2. See syn. study at blunt.

brusque Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • manner: Patients will rightly no longer accept the brusque, off-hand manner of some in the medical ' old school ' .
  • service: It is a pity about the brusque service, however.
  • dismissal: I do think that there are aspects of PT which are worth serious consideration rather than out of hand brusque dismissal.
  • response: If you receive an unexpectedly brusque response when you telephone, check the Radio Times, sports pages.
  • man: To those who didn't know him very well, Alfred was a rather brusque man.
  • approach: Naturally, the reporter's - shall we say - brusque approach to things lands him in more trouble than you can ever imagine.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: My caffeine fix was served by a rather brusque Italian woman today.
  • very: The waitresses are all Eastern European and have a very brusque manner.
  • slightly: The action was rather closer behind, as David Franklin and David Ashton engaged in a tense and sometimes slightly brusque battle for second.
  • too: I hope I haven't been too brusque - I certainly don't mean to be!
  • little: If service seems a little brusque sometimes that is because the waiter is always so busy.
  • equally: When one did come down the service in the coffee bar was slow and equally brusque.

Browse dictionary entries near brusque

  1. brusk
  2. brushy
  3. brushwork
  4. brushwood
  5. brushoff
  6. brushless
  7. brushiness
  8. brushiest
  9. brushier
  10. brushfire
  1. brusquely
  2. brusqueness
  3. brusquerie
  4. Brussel
  5. Brussels
  6. Brussels carpet
  7. Brussels lace
  8. Brussels sprout
  9. brut
  10. brutal