all at once
13
3.0
- idiom
:
de repente
- Nobody wants it in particular and then, all at once, here it is.
- Then, all at once
- All at once, it seemed
- All at once, I felt
When the joblessness hits, it'll hit fast, first slowly and then all at once.
- When the joblessness hits, it'll hit fast, first slowly and then all at once.
- And the question of how do people disconnect is very slowly and then all at once.
- You know, you know, you can't spend it all at once, but you know, like you've won the lottery right now.
- And suddenly the walls of Jericho, it's fortification, start to vibrate and then they crumble all at once.
Examples
-
And all at once, we were revived.
-
I feel like all of the fear I've had hit me all at once, then faded away.
Blog text (31) -
It's wild; it's like the ocean taking back all at once everything it gave us.
Fiction book (1990) -
And all at once, millions of Americans had a new definition of home.
-
All at once, the mist took full shape and I saw what appeared to be angels.
-
As Moynihan sees it, the American decline into lawlessness did not happen all at once.
Academic text (1991) -
And all at once, I felt a heat pass through me.
-
And then all at once, the pain just hit me.
-
All at once, the mist took full shape and I saw what appeared to be angels.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Quickly and without warning
∞
1.0
At once without waiting
987
2.7
Very quickly and without warning
960
1.0
Without any delay
344
1.0
Immediately without delay
330
1.0
Right away without any delay
145
3.3
In a sudden way that gives no warning
116
7.1
Happens quickly and without warning
95
3.4
Something happens suddenly and without warning
50
3.2
Right away without any hesitation
50
3.3
Very quickly, in almost no time
35
2.5
Very quickly in a single moment
28
4.1
Suddenly and without any warning
27
3.7
Very quickly and without delay
25
5.6
Happen at once without delay
25
5.8
Suddenly with no clear reason, like magic
14
7.6
A single sudden action that happens all at once
13
3.5
Very quickly without delay
5
4.4
To do something very suddenly and with great force
4
6.0
Very quickly and without hesitation
3
3.0
It happens very quickly with little effort
1
3.5
Very quickly, in an instant
1
4.7
All done at the same time with one action
Immediately without any delay
Antonyms
How Sudden
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'suddenly/at one time' is directly derivable from combining 'all' (the whole/entirety) with 'once' (at one time), with 'at' marking the temporal relation — essentially 'all at one time'. This is a regular compositional temporal pattern in English and appears in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
All at once can feel sudden, like the lights going out and everyone gasping in a single instant. Because the action hits in one moment, the words all and at once are used to mean 'suddenly' or 'without warning'.