all of a sudden

Meaning

Happening unexpectedly and very quickly.

Examples

• All of a sudden, the lights went out and the room was plunged into total darkness.
• She was walking down the street when, all of a sudden, she realized she had left her keys at home.

Pronunciation: /ˌɔːl əv ə ˈsʌdən/

Synonyms of all of a sudden

Words with a similar meaning to all of a sudden:

• suddenly
• abruptly
• unexpectedly
• out of the blue