Emphasizes that something is done to the fullest extent or that a state is total. Often used with verbs of stopping, forgetting, or changing.
Used in negative sentences to mean 'not at all' or 'not a bit'. Often paired with ～ない.
I had completely forgotten about him.
It hasn't rained at all lately.
I couldn't understand his story at all.
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 頓と is ateji and rare.
Ateji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.
The origin is uncertain; it is considered a mimetic or sound-symbolic word. The kanji 頓 is ateji.