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Showing results for all of a sudden. Search instead for all+of+a+sudden.
Synonyms

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.


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.

“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

"We have the perfect storm of a condition that was previously thought to be very rare all of a sudden becoming extremely common," she says.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

“We’ve been having this conversation for 50 years. Why is it all of a sudden a problem now?”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

And he dies suddenly, tragically, and ... all of a sudden the rug is really just emotionally and psychologically pulled out from underneath them.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

I will not get better all of a sudden.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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