suddenness

sud·den

 (sŭd′n)

adj.

1. Happening without warning; unforeseen: a sudden storm.

2. Happening or done without delay; hasty or immediate: a sudden decision.

3. Characterized by sharp change in elevation; precipitous: a sudden drop in the ocean floor.

Idiom:

all of a sudden

Very quickly and unexpectedly; suddenly.

---

[Middle English sodain, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *subitānus, from Latin subitāneus, from subitus, from past participle of subīre, to approach stealthily : sub-, secretly; see sub- + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

---

sud′den·ly adv.

sud′den·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Suddenness

 

See Also: ENTRANCES/EXITS, SHOCK, SURPRISE

1. Abrupt as a sultry little thunder shower —Amy Leslie
2. Abruptly as string that snaps beneath the bow —Ernest William Hornung
3. Abruptly, like a summer rainstorm —Derek Lambert
4. Abrupt, startling shock, like the slap of a wet towel —Norman Mailer
5. All at once, like the wind dispersing storm clouds at a single puff —Lawrence Durrell
6. Appear suddenly as if out of a fold of the air —Iris Murdoch
7. Arbitrary as a cyclone —Anon
8. Burst into the room like a bullet crashing through a window —Guy De Maupassant

   See Also: BURST

9. Didn’t expect it … like a storm on a very fine day —Ivan Turgenev
10. He was with them as suddenly as a gift, as if an arm had thrust in a bunch of roses or a telegram —Eudora Welty
11. (A reflex as) immediate as a sneeze —Leigh Allison Wilson

    A common variation: “Sudden as a sneeze.”

12. Steep as a broom handle —Elizabeth Spencer
13. Steep as hell’s half acre —George MacDonald Fraser
14. Stopped all of a sudden, as if he had been shot —William Makepeace Thackeray
15. Sudden and foolish as that almost silent fart —George Garrett

    See Also: FOOLISHNESS

16. Sudden as a burst of hiccuping —Anon

    This and the entries that follow typify the simile that develops new twists from conversation to conversation, writer to writer.

17. Sudden as a dislocated joint slipping back into place —Anon
18. Sudden as a massacre —Anon
19. Sudden as a meteor shooting across the sky —Anon
20. Sudden as an epileptic seizure —Anon
21. Sudden as a stitch in your side —Anon
22. Sudden as a summer shower —Anon
23. Sudden as a tornado swooping down on a small town —Alistair Cooke, Public Television, March 8, 1987

    The comparison referring to the suddenness of the first World War was made during an introduction to an episode in the “Lost Empire” series.

24. [Call of a jaybird] sudden as conscience —Robert Penn Warren
25. Sudden as the stopping of breath —Mary Lee Settle
26. (The end was) sudden, like a foolish play —Karl Shapiro
27. Suddenly, as a train comes out of a tunnel —Virginia Woolf
28. Suddenly, like a pair of obscene words, (there appeared on the path two boys) —Truman Capote
29. Sudden resolutions, like the sudden rise of the mercury in the barometer, indicate little else than the changeableness of the weather —Julius Charles Hare and Augustus William Hare
30. Sudden, surprising … it is like encountering a pun in a telephone directory —Karl E. Meyer
31. Too sudden … like the lightning —William Shakespeare

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

suddenness - the quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning precipitance, precipitancy, precipitateness, precipitousness, abruptness haste, hastiness, hurriedness, hurry, precipitation - overly eager speed (and possible carelessness); "he soon regretted his haste"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

فُجائِيَّه

náhlost

uventethed

soudaineté

skjótleiki; skynding

rapidit...

plutselighet

náhlosť

nenadnost

anî olma

突然

suddenness

[ˈsʌdnnɪs] N

1. (= speed) → lo repentino
I do wonder at the suddenness of his decision → me sorprende lo repentino or lo súbito de su decisión
it had all happened with terrifying suddenness → todo había ocurrido con una rapidez espantosa
having started suddenly, the pain stops with equal suddenness → habiendo empezado repentinamente, el dolor cesa con la misma rapidez

2. (= unexpectedness) → lo inesperado
the suddenness of his resignation → lo inesperado or imprevisto de su dimisión

3. (= abruptness) → brusquedad f
the car came to a halt with a suddenness that sent her jerking forward → el coche se paró con tal brusquedad que la lanzó hacia adelante

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

suddenness

[ˈsʌd^ənnɪs] n [attack, movement, death, change] → soudaineté f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

suddenness

n → Plötzlichkeit f; (of movement also) → Jähheit f, → Abruptheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

suddenness

[ˈsʌdnnɪs] n the suddenness of his death/departure → la sua morte/partenza improvvisa

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sudden

(ˈsadn) adjective

happening etc quickly and unexpectedly. a sudden attack; His decision to get married is rather sudden!; a sudden bend in the road. skielik فُجائي внезапен súbito náhlý plötzlich pludselig ξαφνικόςsúbito, repentino äkiline, ootamatu ناگهاني اتفاق افتادن äkillinen soudainפתאומי अचानक nenadan, nagao hirtelen; váratlan mendadak skyndilegur improvviso 突然の 갑짜스러운 staigus, netikėtas pēkšņs; negaidīts tiba-tiba plotselingplutselig, brånagły ناڅاپه پیښیدل súbito brusc внезапный; неожиданный náhly nenaden iznenadan plötslig, oväntad ทันทีทันใด anî, apansız 突然的 раптовий; несподіваний اچانک thình lình 突然的

ˈsuddenness noun

skielikheid فُجائِيَّه внезапност rapidez náhlost die Plötzlichkeit uventethed (το)αιφνίδιο cualidad de repentino/súbito; brusquedad äkilisus ناگهاني بودن äkillisyys soudaineté פִּתאוֹמִיוּת आकस्मिक, फुर्ती, तीखा nenadanost, neočekivanost váratlanság, hirtelenség kejadian mendadak skjótleiki; skynding subitaneità 突然さ 갑작스러음 staigumas pēkšņums; negaidītība dengan tiba-tiba onverhoedsheid plutselighet, bråhet raptowność ناڅاپه کیدل rapidez caracter brusc внезапность; неожиданность náhlosť nenadnost iznenadnost plötslighet ความไม่ทันรู้ตัว anî olma 突然 раптовість اچانک ہونا sự bất thình lình 突然

ˈsuddenly adverb

He suddenly woke up; Suddenly she realized that the stranger had a gun. skielik فَجأةً внезапно subitamente náhle plötzlich pludseligt ξαφνικάsúbitamente, de repente, de golpe äkitselt ناگهاني äkillisesti soudainלפתע अकस्मात, जल्दी में, फुर्ती से nenadano, iznenada hirtelen tiba-tiba skyndilega improvvisamente 突然に 갑짜기 staiga pēkšņi; negaidīti tiba-tiba plotselingplutselig, bråttnagle ناڅاپه subitamente brusc, deodată внезапно náhle nenadoma iznenada plötsligt, oväntat อย่างกะทันหัน birdenbire, ansızın 突然地 раптом, зненацька اچانک سے bất thình lình 突然地

all of a sudden

suddenly or unexpectedly. All of a sudden the lights went out. skielik فَجأةً изведнъж de repente najednou ganz plötzlich pludselig εντελώς ξαφνικά de repente, de golpe äkki ناگهان yhtäkkiä tout à coupפתאום अचानक odjednom, iznebuha hirtelen tiba-tiba allt í einu all'improvviso 突然に 불시에, 불쑥 staiga pēkšņi secara tiba-tiba plotselingplutselig, med ettnagle ناڅاپه de repente brusc внезапно; вдруг naraz, zrazu nepričakovano iznenada helt plötsligt อย่างไม่คาดคิด anîden, ansızın 冷不防 раптом, зненацька بالکل اچانک đột ngột 冷不防

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.