startling

[ stahrt-ling, stahr-tl-ing ]

/ ˈstɑrt lɪŋ, ˈstɑr tl ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR startling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

creating sudden alarm, surprise, or wonder; astonishing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

starting stalls, startle, startle colour, startle epilepsy, startle reflex, startling, startup, starvation, starvation wages, starve, starveling

Origin of startling

startle + -ing²

Related forms

star·tling·ly, adverbun·star·tling, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for startlingly

He is a startlingly brilliant bassist, as accomplished in classical music as in jazz.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest|Nat Hentoff|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Edith Wharton, of course, writes in such a startlingly sharp and close-grained way about how people live.
How I Write: Meg Wolitzer|Noah Charney|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Barack Obama has completely distracted attention from the startlingly right-wing government that Bibi installed on Monday.
Lapid Lost, Obama Distracts|Gershom Gorenberg|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The second half of the film, in particular, is startlingly effective.
Meet the Germans Having Sex to Save the World|Marlow Stern|March 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

There was a time when the average Briton or American belonged to a startlingly large number of clubs and societies.
A More Civil Society|Noah Kristula-Green|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The result will be so startlingly beautiful that no further words will be necessary.
One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed|C. A. Bogardus
He had watched a program just last month, and it had been startlingly lifelike.
Cost of Living|Robert Sheckley
The same aquiline nose and gray eyes, but how startlingly different he looked.
Crossed Trails in Mexico|Nell Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley
His face was the colour of lead, his eyes were startlingly bloodshot.
The Isle of Unrest|Henry Seton Merriman
They spring from a pantheistic philosophy in many respects, startlingly resembling those of modern times.
Mystics and Saints of Islam|Claud Field

British Dictionary definitions for startlingly

startling

/ (ˈstɑːtlɪŋ) /

adjective

causing surprise or fear; striking; astonishing

Derived Forms

startlingly, adverb

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