sudden
[ suhd-n ]
/ ˈsʌd n /
adjective
adverb
Literary.
suddenly.
noun
Obsolete.
an unexpected occasion or occurrence.
Idioms for sudden
all of a sudden,
without warning; unexpectedly; suddenly.
Also on a sudden.
Origin of sudden
SYNONYMS FOR sudden
1, 2
unforeseen,
unanticipated.
Sudden,
unexpected,
abrupt describe acts, events, or conditions for which there has been no preparation or gradual approach.
Sudden refers to the quickness of an occurrence, although the event may have been expected:
a sudden change in the weather.
Unexpected emphasizes the lack of preparedness for what occurs or appears:
an unexpected crisis.
Abrupt characterizes something involving a swift adjustment; the effect is often unpleasant, unfavorable, or the cause of dismay:
He had an abrupt change in manner. The road came to an abrupt end.
OTHER WORDS FROM sudden
sud·den·ly, adverb sud·den·ness, nounWords nearby sudden
British Dictionary definitions for all of a sudden
sudden
/ (ˈsʌdən) /
adjective
occurring or performed quickly and without warning
marked by haste; abrupt
rare
rash; precipitate
noun
archaic
an abrupt occurrence or the occasion of such an occurrence (in the phrase on a sudden)
all of a sudden
without warning; unexpectedly
adverb
mainly poetic
without warning; suddenly
Derived forms of sudden
suddenness, nounWord Origin for sudden
C13: via French from Late Latin
subitāneus, from Latin
subitus unexpected, from
subīre to happen unexpectedly, from
sub- secretly +
īre to go
Idioms and Phrases with all of a sudden (1 of 2)
all of a sudden
Entirely without warning, abruptly, as in All of a sudden the lights went out. In Shakespeare's day the common phrase was of a sudden, the word all being added in the late 1600s. Also see all at once, def. 2.
Idioms and Phrases with all of a sudden (2 of 2)
sudden
see all of a sudden.