Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: sodain, from Latin subitaneus, from subitus 'sudden', from subire 'to come up'

sudden

 adjective
     
sud‧den S2 W3
1 happening, coming, or done quickly or when you do not expect it:
a sudden change in the weather
Life is cruel, she thought, with a sudden rush of anger.
Her death was sudden.
2

all of a sudden

suddenly:
All of a sudden the lights went out.
—suddenness noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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