startle

Rather than attempting to lure the animals toward the speaker, the researchers played the sounds loudly enough to provoke a startle response.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Percussion instruments—including a whistle and slap-stick—interrupt and startle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

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

While her decision to stand down as an MSP was obvious and much anticipated, it still has the capacity to startle.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2025

I exaggerated my stride, letting my feet smack the driveway so I didn’t startle Charlie.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

More than 60 years on, the scene still startles.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

What probably startles beginning bromeliad growers most, even after providing diligent care, is the inevitable decline of the original or mother plant after it flowers.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

When finally you see it, however, the pose chosen for the portrait startles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023

For a brief second the sound of laughter startles me.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

Most black bear “attacks” are actually defensive actions, and generally take place if an animal is protecting cubs, startled or scared, according to the department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

“I was really startled by it. It just kind of came in this wave, and then it just grew from there.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

"The two US deportees looked startled and kept asking which country is this and where it is," said a source.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

"I was startled awake and immediately went to my child's room."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The noise at the door startled all who were awake, but it was only the doctor, looking pale and rumpled, as befits a man who was called to work in the middle of the night.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some startling statistics.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Yields in the global bond market have risen with startling speed over the past few months, and the more than $30 trillion market for U.S. government debt certainly hasn’t been immune.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

It's likely to be the most significant royal book since Prince Harry's startling 2023 memoir, Spare, and Andrew Lownie's 2025 book Entitled, which doomed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's reputation.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

The shift is ordinary and still somehow startling.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Rather, he sat still, placid as a little Buddha, stabbing out one startling move after another.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady