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suddenness

suddenness

5 3.7
A quick event that happens without warning
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌdənnəs/
translation icon : sorpresa
  • The storm hit with such suddenness that we barely had time to react.

Their eyes were wide open and they hissed the indrawn hiss of, you know, suddenness.

Examples

  • Sir James's arrival and its suddenness requires some explanation.

  • Warmer weather finally arrived in April, with a suddenness that implied it should be mistrusted.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • - I was surprised by the suddenness of the question.

  • "I am overwhelmed by the suddenness of everything; too much is happening at once.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Danny sits there a moment, shocked by the suddenness of it.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The night fell with the characteristic suddenness of the tropics.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The tragedy developed with startling suddenness.

  • The change of mood was devastating in its suddenness and in its totality.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Then, with horrifying suddenness, the black sky again became a field of blooming stars.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Lunchtime crowds were paralyzed by the suddenness of the crime.

Synonyms

abruptness
vssuddenness
1 6.3

A sudden change or event that happens without warning

is about fast occurrence and lack of warning rather than only surprise
unexpectedness
vssuddenness
1 5.8

A feeling of surprise when something happens that you did not know about

is about events that occur fast as well as being unplanned
precipitousness
vssuddenness
8.9

How fast something happens without warning

is about rapid and hasty events rather than mere surprise

Antonyms

How much you can know about what will happen next

4 3.6

The state of being calm and not changing under pressure

How Sudden

abruptness
1 6.3
suddenness
5 3.7

Surface Forms

suddenness singular
suddennesses plural

Morphology

suddenness = sudden (transparent) = sudden + ness

Standard nominalization of the adjective 'sudden' with '-ness' yields the meaning 'the quality of being sudden', which is directly predictable.

Etymology

Suddenness comes from the simpler word sudden, which itself comes from an old Latin word subitus meaning 'unexpected' or 'coming quickly'. So suddenness is the quality of something happening quickly and without warning.