Happening without previous notice or with very brief notice; coming unexpectedly, or without the common preparation; immediate; instant; speedy. "O sudden wo!" Chaucer. "For fear of sudden death." Shak. Sudden fear troubleth thee. Job xxii. 10.
Hastly prepared or employed; quick; rapid. Never was such a sudden scholar made. Shak. The apples of Asphaltis, appearing goodly to the sudden eye. Milton.
Hasty; violent; rash; precipitate. [Obs.] Shak.
Suddenly; unexpectedly. [R.] Herbs of every leaf that sudden flowered. Milton.
An unexpected occurrence; a surprise. All of a sudden, On a sudden, Of a sudden, sooner than was expected; without the usual preparation; suddenly. How art thou lost! how on a sudden lost! Milton. He withdrew his opposition all of a sudden. Thackeray.
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