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:
“Sudden explosive noise, concussive blasts, and bright flashes have the potential to startle young birds, creating unnecessary risk during a critical period of development.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
They then measured how the mice responded using a modified auditory startle test.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 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
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the woman said, sinking down next to Ophie.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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
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
Too many enjoy the heady rush of attention they get from doing or saying something that startles or provokes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
Her eye darts to Veturius standing behind me, and she smiles, a blaze of white that startles me with its beauty.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Chalong then left the scene, and phoned a startled journalist he knew who was in the middle of a live broadcast on YouTube, to tell her what had happened.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Mark Chamberlin, the school’s controller between 2021 and 2023, said he was startled by how weak financial management was, with few internal controls, poor record-keeping and few consequences when overspending came to light.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 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
Then, when the rest of us burst out laughing, she looks away from the window, startled.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Moseley says the exact opposite: "There is really high-quality work on masking, and it's startling and upsetting to see such work be denigrated."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“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 cold was startling, like a slap to the face, and the wind was still bitter.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
