Adjacent Words

Suddenly definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUD'DENLY, adv. In an unexpected manner; unexpectedly; hastily; without preparation.
Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly. Proverbs 6.
1. Without premeditation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: happening unexpectedly; "suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her side" [syn: suddenly, all of a sudden, of a sudden]
2: quickly and without warning; "he stopped suddenly" [syn: abruptly, suddenly, short, dead]
3: on impulse; without premeditation; "he decided to go to Chicago on the spur of the moment"; "he made up his mind suddenly" [syn: on the spur of the moment, suddenly]

Merriam Webster's

adverb see sudden I

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sudden Sud"den, a. [OE. sodian, sodein, OF. sodain, sudain, F. soudain, L. subitaneus, fr. subitus sudden, that has come unexpectedly, p. p. of subire to come on, to steal upon; sub under, secretly + ire to go. See Issue, and cf. Subitaneous.] 1. Happening without previous notice or with very brief notice; coming unexpectedly, or without the common preparation; immediate; instant; speedy. ``O sudden wo!'' --Chaucer. ``For fear of sudden death.'' --Shak. Sudden fear troubleth thee. --Job xxii. 10. 2. Hastly prepared or employed; quick; rapid. Never was such a sudden scholar made. --Shak. The apples of Asphaltis, appearing goodly to the sudden eye. --Milton. 3. Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate. [Obs.] --Shak. Syn: Unexpected; unusual; abrupt; unlooked-for. -- Sud"den*ly, adv. -- Sud"den*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. If something happens suddenly, it happens quickly and unexpectedly. Suddenly, she looked ten years older... Her expression suddenly altered... He sat down suddenly. ADV: usu ADV with cl, ADV with v, also ADV adj

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Unexpectedly, abruptly, pop, on a sudden.

Moby Thesaurus

a corps perdu, aback, abruptly, all at once, bang, by surprise, dash, feverishly, fleetingly, forthwith, hastily, head over heels, headfirst, headforemost, headlong, heels over head, hurriedly, impetuously, implausibly, improbably, impulsively, in a trice, instantaneously, instantly, like a flash, like a thunderbolt, momentarily, of a sudden, on short notice, plop, plump, plunk, pop, precipitantly, precipitately, precipitously, quickly, rapidly, rashly, recklessly, sharp, short, slap, slap-bang, smack, speedily, startlingly, sudden, surprisingly, swiftly, unanticipatedly, unaware, unawares, unexpectedly, unforeseeably, unpredictably, without notice, without warning