sudden

[ suhd-n ]

/ ˈsʌd n /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sudden ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

happening, coming, made, or done quickly, without warning, or unexpectedly: a sudden attack.

occurring without transition from the previous form, state, etc.; abrupt: a sudden turn.

impetuous; rash.

Archaic. quickly made or provided.

Obsolete. unpremeditated.

adverb

Literary. suddenly.

noun

Obsolete. an unexpected occasion or occurrence.

Nearby words

sudation, sudatorium, sudatory, sudbury, sudd, sudden, sudden adult death syndrome, sudden death, sudden infant death syndrome, suddenly, sudeck's atrophy

Idioms

all of a sudden, without warning; unexpectedly; suddenly.Also on a sudden.

Origin of sudden

1250–1300; Middle English sodain (adj. and adv.) < Middle French < Latin subitāneus going or coming stealthily, equivalent to subit(us) sudden, taking by surprise (see subito) + -āneus composite adj. suffix, equivalent to -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous

SYNONYMS FOR sudden

1, 2 unforeseen, unanticipated. Sudden, unexpected, abrupt describe acts, events, or conditions for which there has been no preparation or gradual approach. Sudden refers to the quickness of an occurrence, although the event may have been expected: a sudden change in the weather. Unexpected emphasizes the lack of preparedness for what occurs or appears: an unexpected crisis. Abrupt characterizes something involving a swift adjustment; the effect is often unpleasant, unfavorable, or the cause of dismay: He had an abrupt change in manner. The road came to an abrupt end.

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ANTONYMS FOR sudden

1, 2 gradual, foreseen.

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Related forms

sud·den·ly, adverbsud·den·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sudden

Because they stopped and I thought, “OK, that makes sense,” and then all of a sudden I saw another issue!
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Investigators will focus on whether the sudden emergency was so extreme that no degree of pilot skill would have helped.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
People will always scratch and save if a sudden burst of unrestrained pleasure can be purchased.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Liu had been married just two months before and his wife now stood in this Brooklyn hospital, a sudden widow because of a madman.
Two Cops ‘Assassinated’ in Brooklyn|Michael Daly|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In its presence--jolting, sudden, horrific—the monster is the monster of grief.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A sudden impulse seized me which I have never ceased to regret.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, September, 1850|Various
A sudden turn of the trail revealed a squatter's hut built of rough lumber, and standing beneath a live-oak.
Bunch Grass|Horace Annesley Vachell
Seemingly, as in answer to his question, from toward the front came the sudden roaring of thousands of guns.
Aces Up|Covington Clarke
These questions about sudden joy, this talk about officers found after being long supposed dead?
A Search For A Secret (Vol 3 of 3)|G. A. Henty
The Tarthan swordsman, well up on the principles of discretion, felt a sudden urge to be quit of this locality.
Quest of the Golden Ape|Ivar Jorgensen

British Dictionary definitions for sudden

sudden

/ (ˈsʌdən) /

adjective

occurring or performed quickly and without warning

marked by haste; abrupt

rare rash; precipitate

noun

archaic an abrupt occurrence or the occasion of such an occurrence (in the phrase on a sudden)

all of a sudden without warning; unexpectedly

adverb

mainly poetic without warning; suddenly

Derived Forms

suddenness, noun

Word Origin for sudden

C13: via French from Late Latin subitāneus, from Latin subitus unexpected, from subīre to happen unexpectedly, from sub- secretly + īre to go

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with sudden

sudden

see all of a sudden.

sudden

adjective

adverb

noun

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Idioms

Origin of sudden

SYNONYMS FOR sudden

ANTONYMS FOR sudden

Related forms

Examples from the Web for sudden

British Dictionary definitions for sudden

sudden

adjective

noun

adverb

Derived Forms

Word Origin for sudden

Idioms and Phrases with sudden

sudden