sudden

adjective sud·den \ ˈsə-dᵊn \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 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

That assumes the cast of bureaucrats that have run the carrier poorly develop a sudden knack for management.

— The Economist, "Plans to privatise India’s flag-carrier have run into turbulence," 9 June 2018
For me to be accused of something like that, all of a sudden at 55. ...

— Fox News, "Saintly educator with a dark side: 'Rev' gets up to 26 years," 1 June 2018
Over the course of the campaign, everybody’s redefining themselves, everybody’s progressive all of a sudden.

— steven lemongello, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Andrew Gillum at Orlando town hall: Democratic voters want to hear a progressive message," 1 June 2018
And then all of a sudden, [Marciano] called over the radio, over the phone.

— matthew ormseth, courant.com, "Hartford Police Chief Thanks Employees Of Building Where Officer Was Stabbed," 30 May 2018
All of a sudden, this beautiful art form became annexed with this pseudoscientific field.

— roger catlin, Smithsonian, "Rarely Seen 19th-Century Silhouette of a Same-Sex Couple Living Together Goes On View," 25 May 2018
But something happened, and all of a sudden Lucasfilm decided the steady hands of Ron Howard had it instead.

— nathan mattise, Ars Technica, "Solo film review: Best when it embraces its favorite action-movie urges," 24 May 2018
All of a sudden, there was a cop car driving toward us, telling us to evacuate, run.

— rachel epstein, Marie Claire, "The Fight for Their Lives," 24 May 2018
Does Gibby from iCarly start wearing a shirt of all of a sudden?!

— stacey grant, Seventeen, ""Drake & Josh"'s House Is Under Construction," 21 May 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-, issue

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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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suddenly

suddenness

Examples of sudden in a Sentence

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sudden Synonyms

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sudden

Definition of sudden

First Known Use of sudden

SUDDEN Defined for English Language Learners

sudden

Definition of sudden for English Language Learners

SUDDEN Defined for Kids

sudden

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suddenly

suddenness

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