bruskness

English

Etymology

From brusk +‎ -ness.

Noun

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.