Meaning and use of とっさに

Question

Could you please give me some example sentences with とっさに? According to my dictionary, it means "quickly", but my dictionary doesn't give me any example sentence, so I don't know exactly how to use this word.

When do I use とっさに instead of other expressions like 速く、急に、急速に or さっと?

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

Answer 1

とっさに is semantically more like "without thinking", "instinctively", "instantly" or "reflexively". It's commonly used with an action to protect someone (physically or socially). Examples:

• 前方に人影が見えたのでとっさにブレーキを踏んだ。
• 叱られると思い、とっさに嘘をついてしまった。
• 彼の顔は知っているが、名前はとっさには思い出せなかった。

It's almost never interchangeable with 急に.

とっさの means "happened in a very short time" and its connotation is "no time to think".

• とっさの出来事だったのでうまく対応できなかった。
• とっさの判断だったが、結果的にはうまく行った。