all of a sudden

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all of a sudden

“It’s really a concern about a slippery slope. Do we start here with prescriptions, then all of a sudden, is it going to lead to diagnostic tests?” said John Whyte, chief executive of the AMA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

"It's a funny thing to see someone that you have watched their serve on TV for so many years, and then all of a sudden that serve is coming at you," he explained.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

"We were recording in an office and all of a sudden the table moved and we all looked at each other," Ruiz told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

“Football’s all of a sudden starting to reckon with the new climate realities,” said Elliot Arthur-Worsop, founding director of Football For Future, a pioneering U.K. nonprofit and co-publisher of “Pitches in Peril.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

I felt stubborn about it all of a sudden, even though I’d been dreading it all day.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly