Meaning & use
all of a sudden
Quickly and unexpectedly, without any warning.
See it in a sentence
All of a sudden, the lights went out and the room fell silent.
She was walking calmly when, all of a sudden, the dog began to bark.
A note on using this word
The standard phrase is 'all of a sudden'; 'all of the sudden' is a very common but nonstandard variant.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
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