startle
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.
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
At the same hearing, Talley revealed that Ferguson still had the chair with the bullet hole and kept it in his living room, a fact that seemed to startle the judge.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2025
He turned his head her way, and Sarai was so accustomed to her own acute nonbeing that it didn’t even startle her.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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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