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Webster 1913 Edition

Sudden

Sud′den

,
Adj.
[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.
Sudden
fear troubleth thee.
Job xxii. 10.
2.
Hastly prepared or employed; quick; rapid.
Never was such a
sudden
scholar made.
Shakespeare
The apples of Asphaltis, appearing goodly to the
sudden
eye.
Milton.
3.
Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Syn. – Unexpected; unusual; abrupt; unlooked-for.
–
Sud′den-ly
,
adv.
–
Sud′den-ness
,
Noun.

Sud′den

,
adv.
Suddenly; unexpectedly.
[R.]
Herbs of every leaf that
sudden
flowered.
Milton.

Sud′den

,
Noun.
An unexpected occurrence; a surprise.
All of a sudden
,
On a sudden
,
Of a sudden
,
sooner than was expected; without the usual preparation; suddenly.
How art thou lost! how
on a sudden
lost!
Milton.
He withdrew his opposition
all of a sudden
.
Thackeray.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sudden

SUD'DEN

,
Adj.
[L. subitaneus.]
1.
Happening without previous notice; coming unexpectedly, or without the common preparatives.
And sudden fear troubleth thee. Job.22.
For when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. 1 Thess.5.
2.
Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate; passionate. [Not in use.]

SUD'DEN

,
Noun.
An unexpected occurrence; surprise. [Not in use.]
On a sudden, sooner than was expected; without the usual preparatives.
How art thou lost, how on a sudden lost!
[Of a sudden, is not usual, and is less elegant.]

Definition 2024

sudden

sudden

English

Adjective

sudden ‎(comparative more sudden, superlative most sudden)

  1. Happening quickly and with little or no warning.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
    The sudden drop in temperature left everyone cold and confused.‎
  2. (obsolete) Hastily prepared or employed; quick; rapid.
    • Shakespeare
      Never was such a sudden scholar made.
    • Milton
      the apples of Asphaltis, appearing goodly to the sudden eye
  3. (obsolete) Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate.
    • Shakespeare
      I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

sudden ‎(comparative more sudden, superlative most sudden)

  1. (poetic) Suddenly.
    • Milton
      Herbs of every leaf that sudden flowered.

Noun

sudden ‎(plural suddens)

  1. (obsolete) An unexpected occurrence; a surprise.

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: figure · goes · youth · #722: sudden · usual · entirely · system

Etymology

From Middle English sodain, from Anglo-Norman sodein, from Old French sodain, subdain ‎(“immediate, sudden”), from Vulgar Latin *subitānus ‎(“sudden”), from Latin subitaneus ‎(“sudden”), from subitus ‎(“sudden", literally, "that which has come stealthily”), originally the past participle of subire ‎(“to come or go stealthily”), from sub ‎(“under”) + ire ‎(“go”).

Pronunciation

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