"No." It came out sounding needlessly abrupt and was followed by a silence that seemed not calculated but hurt.

He hadn't meant to sound so abrupt, but for once she didn't cringe away.

I laughed then, and it sounded abrupt and harsh even to me.

That sounded a bit more abrupt than was Massha's normal style.

I really hadn't meant it to sound so abrupt and flat.

It must have sounded so abrupt and callous to you.

In the city, so strangely silent, it sounded abrupt and odd.

You don't want to say the wrong thing and then you come off sometimes sounding abrupt and mean.

Now I don't want to sound abrupt, but it's been a long day and I'm bushed.

It sounded abrupt, but he knew it wouldn't do to get caught up in something he couldn't control.