startle
Americanverb (used with object)
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startles,
present (3rd person singular)
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startled,
past participle, past
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startling
present participle
verb (used without object)
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startles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
startled,
past participle, past
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startling
present participle
noun
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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
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startlesimple
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startlessimple
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have startledperfect
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has startledperfect
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am startlingprogressive
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are startlingprogressive
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is startlingprogressive
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have been startlingperfect progressive
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has been startlingperfect progressive
Past
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startledsimple
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had startledperfect
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was startlingprogressive
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were startlingprogressive
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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:
Few people who have been on the national stage this long retain an ability to startle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 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
The next thing Ms Lees knew, the kangaroo had launched towards her car, which she had slowed to a crawl so as not to startle the animal, and started to attack it.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
In the documentary, we see Lopez share Affleck’s love letters with her musicians to inspire them — something that seemed to startle him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
When I look from the bathing suit to the girl wearing it—and the girl next to her in an equally familiar tie-dye suit—I startle.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
The sight of them visibly startles people who have not thought about them for years.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
I jump and even Ivan startles and his Noise pictures fade pretty quick.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
Less than 72 hours later, she startled fans by announcing plans to step away from the spotlight—and the “endless, ongoing public scrutiny” that accompanies it—after wrapping her current tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
A man was startled to find a black bear in the front seat of a pickup truck in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Observers were startled that, given the risks, Ali Khamenei was present in the very centre of Tehran on February 28 rather than in hiding elsewhere in the vast country.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The initial announcement of SpaceX’s bond sale had startled some investors, some of whom sold their shares.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Torak glanced from the startled cub to the whistle.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“I watched through all hours of the night and at one point screamed into my phone ‘YOU’VE GOT THIS, JACKIE!’ startling my entire family awake.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
His words were startling, to say the least, but Schwartz’s description of the president’s true personality was revelatory.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
In July, Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI announced the release of a fully open-source AI, startling Silicon Valley with its ability to rival U.S. models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The bat fell onto a table at the Yellow Deli in Vista, startling patrons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Nevertheless, with one of those startling contradictions so common in mythology, she kept the Greek Fleet from sailing to Troy until they sacrificed a maiden to her.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
