French word

soudainement

Pronunciation

IPA/sudɛnəmɑ̃/

Meaning

  • adverbsuddenly

Example

Il a soudainement commencé à pleuvoir.

It suddenly started to rain.

Illustration for soudainement (suddenly)

More examples

La musique s'est soudainement arrêtée.

The music suddenly stopped.

Core concept

A change that snaps into existence without warning and almost at once.

Common phrases

  • soudainement commencé

    suddenly started

  • soudainement disparu

    suddenly disappeared

  • soudainement apparu

    suddenly appeared

Similar words

soudain: Describes something that occurs suddenly, without advance notice.
tout à coup: A casual expression for a sudden event.
brusquement: Describes a sudden, intense change in movement or condition.
à l'improviste: Describes an event occurring without prior preparation or notice.

Definition in French

Sert à exprimer qu'une action ou un changement arrive de manière imprévue et presque instantanée.

Word origin

Soudainement is formed from the adjective soudain with the adverbial suffix -ement; soudain comes from Old French sodain and Latin subitaneus.

Usage tips

  • Soudainement is an adverb, while soudain and soudaine are adjectives used before nouns, as in un changement soudain.

Other meanings

  • abruptlyadverb

Opposites

Related words

  • soudainsuddenadjective
  • soudainetésuddennessnoun

Word lists with this word