startle
verb (used with object)
to disturb or agitate suddenly as by surprise or alarm.
is startling
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present progressiveof startle (3rd person singular).present progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate present.
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.
The disconnect between soaring tech stocks External link and the rest of the market is startling.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
“It is startling, even today,” writes Mr. Meslow, a film and television critic, “how confidently the ‘Twin Peaks’ pilot script introduces its many, many characters.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
What is startling about the memoir is the disconnect between how the world viewed the young actor and how much it was clearly missing about him.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
And to be in the thick of it, without much in the way of denial left, is startling for those who wanted to deny it all along.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2024
In many parts of the world the fatality rate from parathion is startling: 100 fatal cases in India and 67 in Syria in 1958, and an average of 336 deaths per year in Japan.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
