just like that

Examples

• All

• And you know, just like that, your life can change.

  Terry Stone Connection

• One day, just like that, around the month of March, he had a chance encounter.

  Fiction book (1997)

• And just like that we cut some glass.

• A couple of days later he called up and offered me a job, just like that.

  Fiction book (1992)

• Did you really think you could pick me up just like that?

  Fiction book (1995)

• You promise and promise, and then you change your mind, just like that.

  Fiction book (1993)

• Mommy got sick, and it happened just like that, and there was nothing anybody could do.

  Fiction book (1993)

• I am going to say yes, and just like that, the jacket's mine.

• They'll lose 40% of their net worth to the government, just like that.

  Fiction book (1995)

• One minute, you're alive, and then just like that, it's all gone.

Synonyms

S

suddenly

vsjust like that

∞ 1.0

Quickly and without warning

adds sense of no apparent effort or cause rather than only quickness

A

all of a sudden

vsjust like that

• Informal

987 2.7

Very quickly and without warning

emphasizes lack of effort or cause as well as suddenness

O

out of nowhere

vsjust like that

170 4.2

Happening suddenly without any warning

implies the same surprise but also that no effort or cause is apparent

A

abruptly

vsjust like that

145 3.3

In a sudden way that gives no warning

is more about sharp or sudden change than seeming effortless or easy

O

of a sudden

vsjust like that

• Informal

116 7.1

Happens quickly and without warning

stresses that it seems effortless or has no obvious cause rather than just abruptness

U

unexpectedly

vsjust like that

99 2.3

Happening without any warning

adds idea of occurring without apparent effort or cause rather than only surprise

O

out of the blue

vsjust like that

• Informal

95 3.4

Something happens suddenly and without warning

suggests it also feels effortless or happens without visible cause rather than only suddenness

F

from nowhere

vsjust like that

28 4.1

Suddenly and without any warning

focuses more on seeming effortlessness or ease rather than just missing cause

O

out of thin air

vsjust like that

25 5.8

Suddenly with no clear reason, like magic

highlights lack of effort or cause as central not only unexpected timing

O

offhand

vsjust like that

7 6.3

Said or done immediately without careful thought

refers to immediate or casual action by someone not an effortless happening

O

on the spur of the moment

vsjust like that

6 4.4

To act suddenly without planning or thinking

describes a quick personal choice rather than an event that happens without effort

S

spur-of-the-moment

vsjust like that

• Informal

4 5.8

Happening suddenly without planning, often as a quick decision

means a sudden personal decision not an event occurring effortlessly on its own

H

hey presto

vsjust like that

• Informal

1 8.7

A word people say when something happens suddenly, like magic

is similar but more informal and playful not just indicating lack of effort

P

presto

vsjust like that

• Informal

7.8

Said when something happens suddenly, as if by magic

carries theatrical or magical tone rather than neutral suddenness without effort

N

next thing one knows

vsjust like that

• Informal

8.2

Something happens suddenly before you notice

focuses on unnoticed transition rather than on effortless or unexplained appearance

Antonyms

G

gradually

273 1.9

Slowly and steadily over time

E

effortfully

5.4

In a way that uses a lot of physical or mental energy

How Sudden

just like that

• Informal

183 4.2

suddenly

∞ 1.0

gradually

273 1.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology