Curt Meaning
/kɝt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjBrief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.
adjShort or concise.
Sentence Examples
He gave me a curt answer.
Don't you think it's rude to give people such a curt reply like that?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ reply ended the conversation without any apology.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He gave me a ____ answer.
Word Origin & History
From the Latin curtus (“shortened”). Cognate with Dutch kort, German kurz, Galician curto, French court, Italian corto, Portuguese curto, and Spanish corto. Doublet of short.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Again I begged her to keep an eye on her blood pressure and not get so worked up, and once more she brushed me off, this time with a curt request that I would go and boil my head. [...] Beginning with a curt “Listen, Buster,” she proceeded to sketch out with admirable clearness the salient points in the situation as she envisaged it […]"
— 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “XVIII AND XIX”, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
"Curting thy life, hee takes thy Card away."
— 1608, [Guillaume de Salluste] Du Bartas, translated by Josuah Sylvester, Du Bartas His Deuine Weekes and Workes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Humfrey Lownes [and are to be sold by Arthur Iohnson […]], published 1611, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ reply ended the conversation without any apology.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He gave me a ____ answer.