curt implies disconcerting shortness or rude conciseness.
a curt command
crusty suggests a harsh or surly manner sometimes concealing an inner kindliness.
a crusty exterior
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
He gave only a curt reply to the question. she was offended by the curt reply to her well-meaning question
Recent Examples on the WebOn the street, Belinda would maybe be uncharacteristically curt. Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 The palm grease and petty trafficking of daily life in Iran is thrust into the foreground, as if in an X-ray of the innards of society—a cold, curt, and clinical manner in which Rasoulof contains and conveys his rage. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 June 2022 In hindsight, Albright’s curt dismissal of Russia’s security concerns might seem to have been ill-judged. Peter Harris, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2022 There follows a curt, violent Scherzo—an apotheosis of unthinking force. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2022 There was simply no way that Facebook would send me an curt email threatening to lock my account. Jacob Siegal, BGR, 2 Mar. 2022 Then Maryland’s three-decade relationship with the Leningrad region dissolved with a curt letter.Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2022 Fielding a question on the controversy on Tuesday, Representative Elise Stefanik, who replaced Cheney as the third-ranking House Republican last year, offered a curt response.New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022 Tough Love, its title alone suggesting paradigms in conflict, can also be curt in its compassions. Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2022 See More