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

“Our companies have pricing power but have never used it because it was seen as un-Japanese to raise prices. Now, all of a sudden, it is acceptable,” says Heck.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

“You’ll be reading someone’s Substack or blog post, and all of a sudden in the middle of a perfect paragraph, there’ll be a mistake sitting out there like a sore thumb,” said O’Bryan, 62.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

“I came back and all of a sudden they knew every word to the songs,” she says with disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

“You might all of a sudden find yourself in suburbia and there is no one that you know or who looks like you,” she said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

Its eyes lit up all of a sudden.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly