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

“What about the freshman you recruited there? That’s somebody’s son, and he thinks he’s got himself a good place, and all of a sudden, shazam, they…bring a 21- or 22-year-old in.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s unwise to assume that now, all of a sudden, the red carpet comes out for Western companies.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Or a simple thing I say can all of a sudden help this person do their job better.

From The Wall Street Journal

He had always wanted to forget that part of his life but "all of a sudden, it was like my mother was calling in the darkness of the night".

From BBC

I needed to feel free and had everybody aware that if I’m moving all of a sudden, we’ve got to go and we’ve got to figure it out.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly