brusque — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Rudely abrupt; curt, unfriendly.

   Synonyms

   offhandshort

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Mr. VValler, being probably of opinion that Monſieur Palamede’s arguments vvere too bruſque to be advanc’d in a diſpute vvith a Lady, vvho number’d not fevver than tvventy Kings of her progenitors, vvrote this poem in a more tender and courtly ſtyle; […]

   [A]ll the answer Miss Jarron got was a brusque refusal, followed by Mr. Camperton's retreat from the piano.

   Father Falkener vvas, at the time of this viſit, 'about ſeventy years of age, active in mind and body, bruſque in his manners,' and very communicative.

   More examples (9)

   "Cynthia Courtown seems as lively as ever," said Miss Gusset. / "Yes, lively enough, but I wish her manner was less brusque." / "Brusque indeed! you may well say to: she nearly pushed me down in the hall; and when I looked as if I thought she might have given me a little more room, she tossed her head and said, "Beg pardon, never saw you!"

   He was brusque, authoritative, given to contradiction, rough though never dirty in his personal belongings, and inclined to indulge in a sort of quiet raillery which sometimes was not thoroughly understood.

   Whether it were the absence of Theodora or some other cause, he was brusk, ungracious, scowling, and silent, only nodding to the Bishop who benignly saluted him, […]

   He greeted Milo jovially each time they met and, in an excess of contrite generosity, impulsively recommended Major Major for promotion. The recommendation was rejected at once at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters by ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, who scribbled a brusque, unsigned reminder that the Army had only one Major Major Major Major and did not intend to lose him by promotion just to please Colonel Cathcart.

   Where there are reasonably adequate peaceful alternatives, the use of disruptive self-help by either side of a labor dispute in so important an enterprise contributes neither to the public convenience nor to the long-term interest of the participants. For if they are unable to resolve their differences by their own restraints and inventions, other and more impatient forces may provide brusquer machinery.

   The brusque New York chef [Ali Yeganeh] who was lampooned on "Seinfeld" as the "Soup Nazi" plans to open a chain of takeout soup stands across North America. But don’t expect the authentically rude New York treatment.

   […] I approached the Commissioner of Deportation with a request to release some Armenians who were employed by Germans. He refused this in the brusquest manner and said to me in an incredibly arrogant tone of voice which I will never forget, ‘Vous ne comprenez pas ce que nous voulons. Nous voulons une Arménie sans Arméniens.’ [You do not understand what we want. We want an Armenia without Armenians.]

   They admired in each other a brusque self-assurance and artless candor that others often perceived as arrogant.

   When Dany showed up to throw the Night King off his steed and send him plunging to earth, it was at least a coherent action, which the brusque dragon-grappling prior to it failed to convey.

2. Sour, tart.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Examples

   [T]he thin and bruske harſh vvine doth nouriſh the bodie leſſe, but yet more agreeable and nutritive it is to the ſtomack.

Verb

1. To act towards (someone or something) in a curt or rudely abrupt manner.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • Transitive

   Examples

   Had this been done, Denine had not been bruſqued and carried by Villars at the firſt aſſault, […]

   More examples (2)

   He was indefatigable while he stayed and took true pains, but he brusqued the ministers too much, and I found after he was gone that he had thereby given more offense than I could have imagined.

   Not that I suspect you of thus brusquing matters. It is rather my own fault where, which is too often the case, I am not too negligent about the spiritual concerns of my friends.

   I'll e'en brusque it a little, if he goes on at this rate, and try if I can bring him to a more intelligible mode of speaking.

   More examples (4)

   [H]e [Thomas Pringle] was poor, and from the outset [William] Blackwood domineered over and brusqued him. [James] Cleghorn was also poor, but of a sturdy disposition, and he brusqued every body.

   He blamed himself very severely for his attempt at brusquing Fate.

   The scholar may object that Professor Macmurray is a 'judaizer' who not only brusques the authority of the Church.

   Sometimes in bed Cole doesn't allow your hand to stay on his chest, he brusques it away. Sometimes he lets your hand rest there.

Adjective

1. marked by rude or peremptory shortness

   Synonyms

   bruskcurtshort

   Examples

   try to cultivate a less brusque manner

   a curt reply

   More examples (1)

   the salesgirl was very short with him