suddenly
adv.happening very quickly and when you do not expect it. You use this to describe a surprise or a fast change.
adv.occurring quickly and without warning. Used to indicate an abrupt transition or an unexpected event.
“The rain started suddenly while we were walking.”
“The car in front of us stopped suddenly, forcing my father to slam on the brakes.”
“The peaceful atmosphere of the afternoon was suddenly shattered by a loud explosion from the nearby construction site, sending birds scattering into the sky.”
Typically placed at the beginning of a sentence for dramatic effect or after the verb to describe the action.
Learners often use the adverb 'suddenly' to modify a noun, but the adjective 'sudden' is required in that position.
Inherited from Middle English sodenly, sodeynly, sodeinliche, sodaynlyche; equivalent to sudden + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.