Meanings
- obsoleteSynonym of all of a sudden or suddenly.
How are thou loſt, how on a ſudden loſt,
1667, John Milton, “Book CCXLVII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 9002 more examples
On a sudden, it seemed that a thousand bugles broke the blue air, and they were summoned to a dejeuner in four crimson tents, worthy of Sardanapalus.
1831, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter XI, in The Young Duke. […], volume II (book III), London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 144On a sudden he was aware of a man linking along at his side. He cried a fine night, and the man replied.
1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the TideSynonyms: all of a sudden or suddenly
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseSynonym of all of a sudden or suddenly.
Cite this entry
on a sudden. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20sudden
“on a sudden.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20sudden. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on a sudden,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20sudden.
Source: on a sudden on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.