Suddenly

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sudden \Sud"den\, a. [OE. sodian, sodein, OF. sodain, sudain, F.
     soudain, L. subitaneus, fr. subitus sudden, that has come
     unexpectedly, p. p. of subire to come on, to steal upon; sub
     under, secretly + ire to go. See {Issue}, and cf.
     {Subitaneous}.]
     1. Happening without previous notice or with very brief


        notice; coming unexpectedly, or without the common
        preparation; immediate; instant; speedy. "O sudden wo!"
        --Chaucer. "For fear of sudden death." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Sudden fear troubleth thee.           --Job xxii.
                                                    10.
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     2. Hastly prepared or employed; quick; rapid.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Never was such a sudden scholar made. --Shak.
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              The apples of Asphaltis, appearing goodly to the
              sudden eye.                           --Milton.
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     3. Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate. [Obs.] --Shak.
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     Syn: Unexpected; unusual; abrupt; unlooked-for.
          [1913 Webster] -- {Sud"den*ly}, adv. -- {Sud"den*ness},
          n.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  suddenly
       adv 1: happening unexpectedly; "suddenly she felt a sharp pain in
              her side" [syn: {all of a sudden}, {of a sudden}]
       2: quickly and without warning; "he stopped suddenly" [syn: {abruptly},
           {short}, {dead}]
       3: on impulse; without premeditation; "he decided to go to
          Chicago on the spur of the moment"; "he made up his mind
          suddenly" [syn: {on the spur of the moment}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  58 Moby Thesaurus words for "suddenly":
     a corps perdu, aback, abruptly, all at once, bang, by surprise,
     dash, feverishly, fleetingly, forthwith, hastily, head over heels,
     headfirst, headforemost, headlong, heels over head, hurriedly,
     impetuously, implausibly, improbably, impulsively, in a trice,
     instantaneously, instantly, like a flash, like a thunderbolt,
     momentarily, of a sudden, on short notice, plop, plump, plunk, pop,
     precipitantly, precipitately, precipitously, quickly, rapidly,
     rashly, recklessly, sharp, short, slap, slap-bang, smack, speedily,
     startlingly, sudden, surprisingly, swiftly, unanticipatedly,
     unaware, unawares, unexpectedly, unforeseeably, unpredictably,
     without notice, without warning