Etimology
From Middle English sodenly, sodeynly, sodeinliche, sodaynlyche; equivalent to sudden + -ly.
adverb
suddenly (comparative more suddenly, superlative most suddenly)
Happening quickly and with little or no warning; in a sudden manner.
Examples
Suddenly, the heavens opened and we all got drenched.
But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.
Related words
synonyms
all of a sudden
antonyms
unsuddenly