suddenly
[adverb]
Synonyms: abruptly, all of a sudden, unexpectedly

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Related Idioms: of (or on) a sudden, on the sudden

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English Thesaurus: suddenly, all of a sudden, without warning, out of the blue, at short notice, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

sud‧den‧ly S1 W1 /ˈsʌdnli/ adverb
[Word Family: noun: suddenness; adverb: suddenly; adjective: sudden]
quickly and unexpectedly:
I suddenly realized that there was someone following me.
George died very suddenly.
[sentence adverb]
Suddenly, the eagle opened its wings.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

suddenly
adverb
BAD: Late one evening, as I was getting into the bath, suddenly I heard a strange noise.
GOOD: Late one evening, as I was getting into the bath, I suddenly heard a strange noise.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

suddenly used when something happens very quickly and unexpectedly:
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
I suddenly realized what had happened.
Her husband died suddenly at the age of 64.
all of a sudden suddenly – used especially in stories or descriptions of past events:
All of a sudden, he takes a gun out of his pocket and shoots.
He just all of a sudden decided to leave.
without warning suddenly and with no signs that it was going to happen – used about bad or dangerous things:
One day, he collapsed without warning.
Then, without warning, her husband left her.
out of the blue suddenly and unexpectedly – used especially when you hear from someone you have not seen for a long time or when someone tells you something that surprises you:
She turned up on my doorstep, out of the blue.
The offer had come completely out of the blue.
at short notice British English, on short notice American English suddenly, so that there is not much time to prepare or change arrangements:
He came into the side at short notice, when another player was injured.
Occasionally, tours may have to be cancelled at short notice.
on the spur of the moment used when talking about things you decide to do suddenly, without planning them beforehand:
We all buy things on the spur of the moment.
On the spur of the moment, I decided to go and talk to her about it.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲