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

Now, all of a sudden, he looks like a potential difference-maker in the postseason.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

"I was traveling home by train," recalls Passaleva, "and all of a sudden I was rushing against time to commandeer one of the largest telescopes in the world from my laptop."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

"Things that were in supermarkets and seen as relatively abundant may all of a sudden be in shortage," he adds.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

“I said something,” she told me, describing an incident from early in her tenure at the workplace retirement, benefits and insurance provider, “and all of a sudden a 25-page deck came back.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Then all of a sudden you are done.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

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Related Words

• precipitously
• suddenly
• unexpectedly

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