startle

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

The researchers wondered, then, whether the toe taps were a form of vibrational signaling where the frogs used it as a way to startle or distract the prey before they fed.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024

Chains rattle, rivers roll, animals startle and bolt, forests inspire and expand, babies stretch open-mouthed from the womb, new seedlings arch their necks and creep forward into the light.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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

The zoo called him “a very shy bird that startles easily” and urged anyone who finds him to call its hotline.

From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 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

Mr. Kennedy’s voice startles me out of my state of shock.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Chalong then left the scene, and phoned a startled journalist he knew who was in the middle of a live broadcast on YouTube, to tell her what had happened.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Mark Chamberlin, the school’s controller between 2021 and 2023, said he was startled by how weak financial management was, with few internal controls, poor record-keeping and few consequences when overspending came to light.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Likewise, viewers will not be startled when Marina eventually discovers painful secrets about her mom and dad that cause her to reconsider those phantom figures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Observers were startled that, given the risks, Ali Khamenei was present in the very centre of Tehran on February 28 rather than in hiding elsewhere in the vast country.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Brigit's eyes bulged with a startled yet happy shock.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

“I watched through all hours of the night and at one point screamed into my phone ‘YOU’VE GOT THIS, JACKIE!’ startling my entire family awake.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

His words were startling, to say the least, but Schwartz’s description of the president’s true personality was revelatory.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

The bat fell onto a table at the Yellow Deli in Vista, startling patrons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

A mashup of a memoir, a self-help book, a personal-finance guide, a serious and startling social history of wealth and a standup comedy routine, this is one of the funniest financial books I’ve ever read.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

There’s another startling pop as the cooling units shut off.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera