variants also brusk

Synonym Chooser

How is the word brusque distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of brusque are bluff, blunt, crusty, curt, and gruff. While all these words mean "abrupt and unceremonious in speech and manner," brusque applies to a sharpness or ungraciousness.

a brusque response

In what contexts can bluff take the place of brusque?

The meanings of bluff and brusque largely overlap; however, bluff connotes good-natured outspokenness and unconventionality.

a bluff manner

When might blunt be a better fit than brusque?

While in some cases nearly identical to brusque, blunt suggests directness of expression in disregard of others' feelings.

a blunt appraisal

Where would crusty be a reasonable alternative to brusque?

The words crusty and brusque are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, crusty suggests a harsh or surly manner sometimes concealing an inner kindliness.

a crusty exterior

When could curt be used to replace brusque?

The synonyms curt and brusque are sometimes interchangeable, but curt implies disconcerting shortness or rude conciseness.

a curt command

When is gruff a more appropriate choice than brusque?

While the synonyms gruff and brusque are close in meaning, gruff suggests a hoarse or husky speech which may imply bad temper but more often implies embarrassment or shyness.

puts on a gruff pose

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brusque In conversation, de Moraes often veers between jokes and brusque legal assertions. Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025 Even before this week, the downside of the Trump White House’s brusque treatment of historic U.S. allies was obvious. U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025 Publicly, throughout his career, Tortorella has been both thoughtful and earnest in some moments and blunt and brusque in others. Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025 Young Ari doesn’t want to confront the reality that her mother might never return, though the brusque independence with which Bateman carries herself tells its own story, as though Ari has had to contend with this scenario before. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brusque
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brusque
Adjective
  • Wallen's album comes out months after his abrupt exit from Saturday Night Live in March — which came five years after his controversial initial SNL appearance.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 16 May 2025
  • And that’s before considering Andrew Witty’s abrupt exit announced just this week.
    Seth Joseph, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • In an attempt to punish new castmate Angela Oakley for bringing an uninvited guest, Porsha stonewalls Angela throughout her celebratory dinner, resorting to curt, one-word answers whenever prodded by the group to participate.
    Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 May 2025
  • But his curt, at times browbeating, management style resurfaced, alienating some subordinates, according to former colleagues.
    Adam Goldman, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Her brand features blunt honesty and humor, as well as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 22 May 2025
  • City’s video tribute was a tear-jerker, and less hardy characters than De Bruyne — nicknamed ‘the tumble dryer’ due to his dry (and blunt) approach — would surely have cracked and let the tears roll.
    Sam Lee, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • Hintz, meanwhile, got a rude welcome back early in Game 4 when Evan Bouchard slashed him right in the same area that Darnell Nurse injured him in Game 2.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 27 May 2025
  • And in the case of fully autonomous EVs, it might be considered rude to expect human passengers to get out and cable a robotaxi to a supercharger for a quick top up on the way to the airport.
    Paul Ridden May 23, New Atlas, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • Peter Capaldi - Twelfth Doctor From 2014-2017, a gruff and action-ready Peter Capaldi shredded an electric guitar through the TARDIS.
    Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 May 2025
  • Over a four-decade career that began with a role on Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Lyonne has become known for portraying characters that are gruff but likable, hard-nosed but sympathetic.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Chiefs will host a media availability Thursday, with a short practice viewing window for which The Star will be in attendance.
    Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 28 May 2025
  • Each of them plays like a standalone vignette that could make a short film, and as with a short film program made up of multiple stories, some are stronger than others.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • The banter among the Thunderbolts is droll without ever trying too hard, and snippy without ever putting the team’s unity in doubt.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Things are, per forma, cool and snippy at the start, until Claire suggests a road trip and a tentative robot romance blossoms.
    Vulture Editors, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • When the captain, in a show of stereotypical arrogance, ignores his first officer’s reservations about their trajectory, their little collegial quarrel is definitively resolved by an unceremonious and fiery plunge to earth.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
  • Zhang destroyed Smith in the first round, leaving him bloodied in the middle of the Octagon, ushering the veteran of 60 pro MMA fights out of the sport in the most unceremonious way possible.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Brusque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brusque. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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