sudden
/ˈsʌd(ə)n
/adjective
Occurring or done quickly and unexpectedly or without warning: a sudden bright flash...
- To a schoolboy like myself at the time, they were a sudden flash of lightning that lit a dark landscape.
- Antipsychotic drugs should also be considered in unexplained sudden deaths in psychotic patients.
- However, it was a sudden dip in the dollar's value that spurred speculative activity.
Synonyms
unexpected, unforeseen, unanticipated, unlooked-for, without warning, without notice, not bargained for;
immediate, instantaneous, instant, precipitous, precipitate, abrupt, rapid, swift, lightning, quick, hurried, sharp, without delay
adverb literary or informal
Suddenly: sudden there swooped an eagle downward...
- Susie stayed on in the little place they had till she died very sudden.
Phrases
(all) of a sudden
on a sudden
Derivatives
suddenness
/ noun ...- With his separation ability, suddenness and speed, Winslow consistently gets open.
- We moved briskly along at the edge of Sloan's Lake, when Fred stopped short with such suddenness that he fairly yanked my arm out of the socket.
- After a few years, when all the richest mining claims had been staked, this small city imploded with equal suddenness, turning almost into a ghost town.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French sudein, from an alteration of Latin subitaneus, from subitus 'sudden'.