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

Maybe he’ll all of a sudden have a strained groin and won’t be able to play this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

In the video, Woods appears calm, kneeling on one knee as he tells officers: "I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden, boom".

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

I don’t really know when it began to happen, but all of a sudden, seemingly overnight, friends I knew were forcing me to accompany them to search for packs of Pokémon cards.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

"I don't think he's going to do a complete 180 and all of a sudden, become a great communicator," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Because, all of a sudden, I realize: I do have a talent.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly