SUDDENLY Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

suddenly

adverb

Definition of suddenly

as in abruptly

with great suddenness the bus stopped suddenly, and somebody's lunch landed in the aisle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in unexpectedly

without warning suddenly, something fell out of the sky and landed in the field a few feet away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of suddenly The Cyclops, Polyphemus, renders the strength of Odysseus’ crew insufficient, much as expertise that took a company decades to develop can suddenly be commoditized. — Jeff Degraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026 And with Large opening this October, there is suddenly a very good reason to ride line 9 all the way to the end. — Alessia Armenise, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026 When a supermarket chain experiences a cybersecurity incident, those conveniences can suddenly disappear. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Dentures that suddenly don’t fit comfortably Your dentures fit fine last month. — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 Detroit was dominated at Buffalo, hung on to beat the New York Jets, played poorly in a loss at Carolina and bounced back with a blowout against the Cardinals with a defense that suddenly didn't look like the NFL's worst. — CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 But analysts who spoke with CNBC said Apple's bet is not that foldables suddenly become a mass-market product. — Mackenzie Sigalos,kif Leswing, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 With only two minutes for the family to talk, Seyfried suddenly seems mortified to be intruding. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Kaleka, who co-wrote a book with a former white supremacist about his own journey of forgiveness after the Sikh temple shooting, said the young men who perpetrate these attacks don’t pop up suddenly. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for suddenly

Adverb

Kerry McCoy’s guitar juices up a mid-song gallop by abruptly pivoting from big and noisy to compressed and snarling; at the climax, everything cuts out for a second to spotlight a Daniel Tracy drum fill.

— Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2026
The first preview opens with an innocent domestic exchange between a mother and daughter that abruptly transforms into something strikingly disturbing.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Oct. 2026