startle

Researchers think these markings may help startle predators.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

“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

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

I startle and fall backward with a thud.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023

It startles you and prompts you to cast off the self-centered tendency to always be imposing your opinions on things.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

An owl hoots in a tree overhead and Fina startles.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

The difference also appeared across all 37 bird species examined, including easily startled magpies and pigeons that typically allow people to approach much more closely.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

A field of unharvested sunflowers had attracted mixed flocks of birds, especially goldfinches and bramblings, before they were startled into the air by a sparrowhawk.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“The Pineapple” promised to be intense, but even hours before the show had begun, it had me startled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 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

“Svetlana! My goodness, you startled me! That is to say . . . good morning.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

The trend may have had some startling consequences this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

You would think so, except that 19 of those 67 seats were won by Israel’s “Arab parties,” an all-time high, and that startling fact has thrown the entire political system into confusion.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

The red, as startling as a cymbal clap, strikes the eye, but the impending drama remains out of sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

A Russian drone zips across the computer screen, startling the commanders keeping watch over the battlefield via a live stream in their bunker.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Frank showed him the kitchen, the boot room, the larder stocked with herbs and jars of preserves and beans and a startling number of tins of anchovies.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell