suddenly
Britishadverb
Explanation
If you're walking on a crowded street and you stop suddenly — abruptly and without warning — somebody walking behind you may bump into you. If you experience love at first sight, you've suddenly fallen in love. If you're driving at night and a deer jumps out in front of you, you might suddenly have to swerve to avoid it. Suddenly is the kind of adverb you might use a lot if you're describing the plot of an action movie, a mystery novel, or any story in which lots of unexpected things happen.
Vocabulary lists containing suddenly
A Need for Speed: Synonyms for "Fast"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Suddenly, they had 1,000 orders—a daunting fulfillment task for two guys who were still assembling, glueing and packaging Bricks themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Suddenly we go from a calm market to one with gigantic price swings.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 30, 2026
Suddenly there’s interest from a yes-chef-centric prestige drama called “The Boar,” as well as the return of an old eating disorder that has our heroine sneaking off to the bathroom, in danger of toppling everything.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
Suddenly, Maddie gets the chance to step in front of the camera at work.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
Suddenly they were right in my ears, and their shrieks and chirps went straight to the center of my brain and shook in my skull.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
