[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/curtly/)

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# curtly

adverb

«curtly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

Curtly means in a short, rude, unfriendly way, using very few words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#m1)

### In the lessons

A story word showing that a character is cold, annoyed or impatient: «"No," she said curtly.» In Alice, many creatures answer Alice curtly; in The Wind in the Willows the Badger can be curt with Toad. In everyday life, a curt reply can hurt feelings.

### Examples

- «No,» he said curtly, and shut the door. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x1)
- The clerk curtly told us to wait. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x2)
- The Caterpillar answered Alice curtly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x3)
- She nodded curtly and walked away. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x4)
- He curtly refused to help. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x5)
- The letter was curtly written. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x6)
- "I ain't tellin' no tales ter bad chilluns," said Uncle Remus curtly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/#x7)

### Note

From «curt» (short and rude) + «-ly». Not the same as «shortly», which means «soon».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «curtly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«curtly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/curtly.html) on Mova free.