all of a sudden

3 definitions found

all of a sudden - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sudden \Sud"den\, n.
     An unexpected occurrence; a surprise.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     All of a sudden, On a sudden, Of a sudden, sooner than
        was expected; without the usual preparation; suddenly.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              How art thou lost! how on a sudden lost! --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He withdrew his opposition all of a sudden.
                                                    --Thackeray.
        [1913 Webster]

all of a sudden - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  all of a sudden
      adv 1: without warning; "all at once, he started shouting" [syn:
             all of a sudden, all at once]
      2: happening unexpectedly; "suddenly she felt a sharp pain in
         her side" [syn: suddenly, all of a sudden, of a sudden]

all of a sudden - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  29 Moby Thesaurus words for "all of a sudden":
     abruptly, bang, dash, hastily, impetuously, impulsively,
     like a flash, like a thunderbolt, of a sudden, on short notice,
     plop, plump, plunk, pop, precipitantly, precipitately,
     precipitously, sharp, short, slap, smack, startlingly, sudden,
     suddenly, surprisingly, unawares, unexpectedly, without notice,
     without warning