bruskness

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English

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Etymology

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From brusk +‎ -ness.

Noun

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bruskness (uncountable)

  1. The state of being brusk
    • 1916, Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys To the Homes of the Great, Volume 3 (of 14)[1]:
      On further acquaintance I concluded that Mr. Spear's bruskness was assumed, and that beneath the tough husk there beats a very tender heart.
    • 1912, Vaughan Kester, The Just and the Unjust[2]:
      "Why didn't you send for me at once?" asked the older man with increasing bruskness.
    • 1904, B. M. Bower, The Lonesome Trail and Other Stories[3]:
      When he had eaten, hungrily and in silence, responding to the mildly ironical sociability of his fellows with a brevity which only his soft voice saved from bruskness, he unrolled his new bed and lay down with not a thought for the part he was playing.