out of the blue

Examples

• All

• And if they break up with you out of the blue, it's not you, it's them.

• I couldn't believe it when she called me out of the blue yesterday.

  Fiction book (1990)

• You text somebody out of the blue, you are a force for good.

• It's so weird, so out of the blue.

  Hit Man (2024)

• Three months before he died, he called my mother out of the blue.

  Fiction book (1998)

• It's always me reaching out, and it's never you, and now, just out of the blue, you call.

  The Accountant² (2025)

• And out of the blue they just... - They laid me off.

  The Matador (2005)

• He showed up last night completely out of the blue.

  Oldboy (2013)

• They were in Singapore and out of the blue they decided this was a good idea.

  Anything Goes With James English

• I received a phone call from my old friend out of the blue, and it made my day.

Synonyms

S

suddenly

vsout of the blue

∞ 1.0

Quickly and without warning

is the same idea expressed as a phrase rather than a single word

A

all of a sudden

vsout of the blue

• Informal

987 2.7

Very quickly and without warning

is the same idea but in a common colloquial form

J

just like that

vsout of the blue

• Informal

183 4.2

Happens suddenly without warning or effort

is more about ease or lack of effort than pure unexpectedness

O

out of nowhere

vsout of the blue

170 4.2

Happening suddenly without any warning

emphasizes lack of origin rather than mere unexpected timing

A

abruptly

vsout of the blue

145 3.3

In a sudden way that gives no warning

is general unexpectedness rather than a sharp sudden change

O

of a sudden

vsout of the blue

• Informal

116 7.1

Happens quickly and without warning

is the same idea but expressed in a different phrase

U

unexpectedly

vsout of the blue

99 2.3

Happening without any warning

stresses lack of expectation rather than speed or intensity

F

from nowhere

vsout of the blue

28 4.1

Suddenly and without any warning

focuses on missing cause rather than only on sudden timing

O

out of thin air

vsout of the blue

25 5.8

Suddenly with no clear reason, like magic

highlights apparent impossibility of cause rather than plain suddenness

A

all at once

vsout of the blue

13 3.0

Happening suddenly and without warning

is similar but often used for simultaneous occurrences rather than one event

A

as a lightning bolt

vsout of the blue

• Informal

6.3

Very suddenly and without warning

implies stronger emotional shock than the neutral unexpectedness

Antonyms

E

expectedly

1 3.5

As most people thought would happen

How Unexpected

astonishingly

21 4.0

out of the blue

• Informal

95 3.4

unexpectedly

99 2.3

predictably

31 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology