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

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

Then all of a sudden, this person had gone and worked with someone else, and things were sounding similar.

From Los Angeles Times

“I grew up wanting to skate, but I just never had the time. And then all of a sudden, I had a lot of time,” she says with a laugh.

From Los Angeles Times

Something happens, then, all of a sudden, you’re six hours down this little road on this sound that you heard in a song or something like that.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly