suddenly
Britishadverb
Explanation
If you're walking on a crowded street and you stop suddenly — abruptly and without warning — somebody walking behind you may bump into you. If you experience love at first sight, you've suddenly fallen in love. If you're driving at night and a deer jumps out in front of you, you might suddenly have to swerve to avoid it. Suddenly is the kind of adverb you might use a lot if you're describing the plot of an action movie, a mystery novel, or any story in which lots of unexpected things happen.
Vocabulary lists containing suddenly
A Need for Speed: Synonyms for "Fast"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That was always going to test employees’ devotion since leaving suddenly became much easier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Tromp was photographing a Namaqua chameleon in the Namib Desert when the wind suddenly intensified, bringing a sandstorm that quickly reduced visibility and made breathing difficult.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
"It suddenly, completely dried out," said British farmer John Pawsey, 62, who grows crops in Sussex, in southern England.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
As Ernest Hemingway wrote a century ago: One goes bankrupt two ways — gradually, and then suddenly.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
But this, I suddenly knew, was the respect and reverence of the artist.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
