suddenly

• sodeinly (obsolete)

Inherited from Middle English sodenly, sodeynly, sodeinliche, sodaynlyche; equivalent to sudden +‎ -ly.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsʌd.ən.li/, [sʌd.n̩.li]

• Audio (US):

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• Hyphenation: sud‧den‧ly

suddenly (comparative more suddenly, superlative most suddenly)

1. Happening quickly and with little or no warning; in a sudden manner.

   Synonym: all of a sudden

   Antonym: unsuddenly

   Suddenly, the heavens opened and we all got drenched.

   They've suddenly decided to sell the house.

   • 1569, Richard Grafton, “Henrye the Fift”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, page 464:

     The king before he would take his voyage, sent the Erle of Huntyngdon to ſerche and ſcowre the Seas, leaſt any Frenchmen lyeng in wayte for him might attrap him sodeinly, or he had any knowledge of their ſetting forward.

   • 2013 September 8, Wayne Darsh, “A child of war, with a sense of purpose”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 15 July 2025:

     Shannon Spann had an infant, Jake, to care for and two stepdaughters to suddenly raise by herself.

   • 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)‎^[2], archived from the original on 21 October 2014:

     But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.