startle
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a sudden shock of surprise, alarm, or the like.
-
something that startles.
verb
Synonym Usage
See shock 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
startlesimple
-
startlessimple
-
have startledperfect
-
has startledperfect
-
am startlingprogressive
-
are startlingprogressive
-
is startlingprogressive
-
have been startlingperfect progressive
-
has been startlingperfect progressive
Past
-
startledsimple
-
had startledperfect
-
was startlingprogressive
-
were startlingprogressive
-
had been startlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of startle
First recorded before 1100; Middle English stertlen “to rush, caper,” equivalent to stert(en) “to begin, start” ( see start + -(e)len -le, or continuing Old English steartlian “to kick, struggle”
Explanation
To startle is to jump, like when you're surprised. If you’re sneaking through a dark room and step on a sleeping dog’s tail — you might startle the dog. If she barks, that dog startles you right back! A startle is a quick, sharp movement, like a little jump that happens when you’re surprised or suddenly scared. If you sneak up on your mom and say "Boo!" you’ll startle her and she might jump up in her seat (before she yells at you to quit it). Alarm clocks and barking dogs often startle people. The original meaning of startle, around 1300, was "to run back and forth," from the Old English word styrtan, "to leap up."
Vocabulary lists containing startle
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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The Circuit
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They then measured how the mice responded using a modified auditory startle test.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026
McVay initially yelled and tried to make herself bigger to startle away the predator.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
His lyrics also startle the way poems do.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
But when she sees another dog, everything changes: she snarls, barks loud enough to startle a city block, and lunges with so much force it takes all my strength to hold her back.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2025
Every tiny noise made her startle, pitchfork in hand.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
I am not sure what startles more—that the feat was achieved at all or that it was Mr. Koolhaas’s firm that pulled it off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
When finally you see it, however, the pose chosen for the portrait startles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
Her very English outrage startles him from his role as an Israeli Defense Forces soldier “defending my people” and into that of a teenager defending himself against accusations of being from Manchester.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2023
He startles Queen Ramonda and her daughter Shuri in a rural area of their Black utopia.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
When Albert looks up from the stove, he startles but only says, “Hello,” and “Watch your head,” and waves his cooking spoon as the giant dodges the light fixture.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
She said some birds do not die instantly when shot and instead get startled in the dark and collide with things, but Pellen said that was "not true at all".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The initial announcement of SpaceX’s bond sale had startled some investors, some of whom sold their shares.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Laila Emamjoneh, 24, who sat beside her sister and brother-in-law, was startled at the outburst for New Zealand among a group of mostly Iranians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
In a move that startled many customers, sustainable fashion retailer Everlane has been acquired by Shein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The boy startled and dropped the coconut, water sloshing over his legs.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
The bat fell onto a table at the Yellow Deli in Vista, startling patrons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Even more startling for modern listeners is the bel canto-style vocal ornamentation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
They lie in mud, shells, ice and rock - fragments of evidence from a time when the Atlantic appears to have changed with startling speed.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The evidence for this startling conclusion comes from the most significant opinion study you’ve never read or read about.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
“He’s in Heaven, with Papa Dios,” Abuela said behind me, startling me out of the brooding sorrow that pressed against my chest.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
