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Synonyms

startling

American  
[stahrt-ling, stahr-tl-ing] / ˈstɑrt lɪŋ, ˈstɑr tl ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. creating sudden alarm, surprise, or wonder; astonishing.

startling British  
/ ˈstɑːtlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing surprise or fear; striking; astonishing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • startlingly adverb
  • unstartling adjective

Etymology

Origin of startling

startle + -ing 2

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.

In the popular overture, elicitation of tumult concludes, with startling exhilaration, in the kind of grand Beethovenian triumph that never fails to excite.

From Los Angeles Times

That, in turn, prompted Bale to look at foster care, leading him to a startling statistic: Roughly 75% of siblings entering foster care in the U.S. end up being separated and having to live apart.

From MarketWatch

Americans can hope so after the agency on Wednesday walked back Dr. Prasad’s startling summary refusal last week to review Moderna’s new flu vaccine.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pale green color was fading into a startling white.

From Literature

It was a new and startling thing to me for ordinary friendship to be as off-limits as romance could be.

From Literature

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.