curt
KURTadjMeaning rudely brief
Memory hook CURT = CUT short. Zoe starts to show the banker her whole plan for a lemonade stand, and he cuts her short: “No.” A reply cut that short is curt.
Her curt reply, “No,” ended the conversation.
In context I wrote a long, friendly letter asking for help, but the reply was curt: just two words, “Not possible,” and not even a signature.
Similar short, terse, abrupt, clipped
Opposite friendly, gracious, expansive
From Latin curtus, “cut short.”