Curtly

Pronunciation: /ˈkɜrtli/

Definitions of curtly

adverb in a terse and rude manner

Example Sentences

A1 She answered curtly when asked about her plans for the weekend.

A2 The teacher spoke curtly to the students who were misbehaving.

B1 The customer service representative responded curtly to the complaint.

B2 The boss communicated curtly with his employees during the meeting.

C1 The diplomat curtly rejected the proposal from the opposing country.

C2 The judge spoke curtly to the defendant during the trial.

Examples of curtly in a Sentence

formal The professor curtly dismissed the student's question during the lecture.

informal She just curtly told him to leave her alone.

slang He responded curtly with a simple 'whatever'.

figurative Her words cut through the tension in the room, landing curtly on his ears.

Grammatical Forms of curtly

• past tense: curtly
• plural: curtly
• comparative: more curtly
• superlative: most curtly
• present tense: curtly
• future tense: will curtly
• perfect tense: have curtly
• continuous tense: is curtly
• singular: curtly
• positive degree: curtly
• infinitive: to curtly
• gerund: curtly
• participle: curtly

Origin and Evolution of curtly

First Known Use: 1300 year

Language of Origin: Middle English

Story behind the word: The word 'curtly' originated from the Middle English word 'curt', which meant 'short' or 'brief'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'curtly' evolved from simply meaning 'briefly' to also implying a tone of abruptness or rudeness in communication.