sudden

adjective sud·den \ ˈsə-dᵊn \

|Updated on: 21 Aug 2018

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Examples: sudden in a Sentence

Definition of sudden

1 a : happening or coming unexpectedly

a sudden shower

b : changing angle or character all at once

a sudden drop in the ocean bottom

2 : marked by or manifesting abruptness or haste

a sudden departure

3 : made or brought about in a short time : prompt

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suddenly

adverb

—

suddenness

play \ˈsə-dᵊn-(n)əs\ noun

See sudden defined for English-language learners

See sudden defined for kids

Examples of sudden in a Sentence

a sudden change in temperature
Sudden fame can be difficult to deal with.
She had a sudden urge to be outside.
His death was very sudden.
a sudden turn in the road
I was surprised by her sudden decision to quit.
The director's sudden departure leaves the organization's future uncertain.

Recent Examples of sudden from the Web

For someone who had been assured by multiple dermatologists for multiple decades that my mole was of the low-risk variety, the sudden bleeding came as a frightening shock.

— marci robin, Allure, "Beauty Mark Makeover: Why I Chose to Reduce the Size of My Mole Instead of Getting It Removed," 13 July 2018
Industry observers considered his sudden departure to fit into a succession of corporate resignations sparked by the #MeToo movement against impropriety in the workplace.

— The Economist, "Despite falling foul of the #MeToo movement, Lululemon is soaring," 12 July 2018
The sudden shift may seem heavy-handed and the message a little obvious, but the music is beguiling, not so much simple as transparent and generous.

— New York Times, "Is ‘Mass’ Leonard Bernstein’s Best Work, or His Worst?," 13 July 2018
The Bloomberg model is, by design, slow to reflect sudden shifts in production and could underestimate Tesla’s last-minute manufacturing push that spilled into a gigantic tent outside the factory in Fremont, California.

— Fortune, "Tesla's Mad Scramble to Meet Production Deadline Is Coming to an End," 30 June 2018
By issuing the latest threat, the North reverted to his earlier hard-line stance on retaining nuclear weapons and to a North Korean playbook that includes sudden shifts in tactics when negotiating with other nations.

— mark landler and choe sang-hun, BostonGlobe.com, "White House brushes aside North Korea’s threats to cancel summit," 16 May 2018
If anything, sudden shifts across multiple time zones may be an advantage for a racehorse.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Jetlag won't stop Mendelssohn and there is science to back it up," 3 May 2018
Then all of a sudden everything was about money and big shouldered suits; the world changed.

— laird borrelli-persson, Vogue, "Dianne Benson, A Maverick Retailer in 1980s New York, Talks Fashion, Art, and Collaborators Like David Wojnarowicz and Cindy Sherman," 13 July 2018
But once people started putting a name on it and a few people got popular, then all of a sudden there was a sound that people were associating with that.

— max cea, Billboard, "'Sorry to Bother You' Director Boots Riley on Working With Tune-Yards and Breaking the Rules of Soundtracks," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sudden.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sudden

Middle English sodain, from Anglo-French sudain, from Latin subitaneus, from subitus sudden, from past participle of subire to come up, from sub- up + ire to go — more at sub-, ¹issue

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

sudden Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of sudden

precipitate, headlong, abrupt, impetuous, sudden mean showing undue haste or unexpectedness. precipitate stresses lack of due deliberation and implies prematureness of action.

- the army's precipitate withdrawal

headlong stresses rashness and lack of forethought.

- a headlong flight from arrest

abrupt stresses curtness and a lack of warning or ceremony.

- an abrupt refusal

impetuous stresses extreme impatience or impulsiveness.

- an impetuous lover proposing marriage

sudden stresses unexpectedness and sharpness or violence of action.

- flew into a sudden rage

sudden

noun

Definition of sudden

obsolete

: an unexpected occurrence : emergency

— all of a sudden or less commonly on a sudden

: sooner than was expected : at once

First Known Use of sudden

1558

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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SUDDEN Defined for English Language Learners

sudden

adjective

Definition of sudden for English Language Learners

: happening, coming, or done very quickly in a way that is usually not expected

SUDDEN Defined for Kids

sudden

adjective sud·den \ ˈsə-dᵊn \

Definition of sudden for Students

1 : happening or coming quickly and unexpectedly

… she was startled by a sudden outburst of noise.
—Robert C. O'Brien, Rats of NIMH

2 : met with unexpectedly

We came to a sudden turn in the road.

3 : hasty 2

He made a sudden decision.

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suddenly

adverb

—

suddenness

noun

— all of a sudden

: sooner than was expected : suddenly

All of a sudden I saw him.

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sudden

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