Suddenly

How to spell suddenly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce suddenly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does suddenly mean?

1. adverbIn a quick and unexpected way; without warning.

Suddenly in a sentence

• The engine suddenly cut out on the motorway.

• Prices rose suddenly after the announcement.

Where does suddenly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin subitus, meaning 'come up' or 'happened unexpectedly', the past participle of subire, literally 'to go up' or 'come stealthily up to', built from sub (under, up from below) and ire (to go). From that came the Latin adjective subitaneus, 'sudden', which passed into Old French as sodain or soudain. English borrowed it in the 1200s and 1300s as the adjective 'sudden', and the adverb 'suddenly' was formed in the usual English way by adding the suffix -ly. The same ire root for 'going' lurks behind many English words, including 'exit', 'transit', and 'ambition'. The spelling trap is the doubled d, an English doubling that keeps the short, abrupt vowel sound that suits the word's meaning so well.

How the word is built

• sudden (from Latin subitus: come up unexpectedly)
• -ly (adverb suffix)