• Startle

    Pronunciation

    • Rhymes: -ɑː(r)tÉ™l

    Origin

    From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen ("to rush, stumble along"), from Old English steartlian ("to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble"), equivalent to start + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla ("to hobble, stagger"), Icelandic stirtla ("to straighten up, erect"). Compare also Middle English stertil ("hasty"). More at start.

    Full definition of startle

    Verb

    1. (intransitive) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.a horse that startles easily
      • AddisonWhy shrinks the soul
        Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
    2. (transitive) To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
      • John LockeThe supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us.
      • 1896, Joseph Conrad, "An outcast of the islands"Nothing could startle her, make her scold or make her cry. She did not complain, she did not rebel.
      • 1997, R. L. Stine, Say Cheese and Die, Again!, The high voice in the night air startled me. Without thinking, I started to run. Then stopped. I spun around, my heart heaving against my chest. And saw a boy. About my age.
    3. (transitive, obsolete) To deter; to cause to deviate.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Noun

    startle

    (plural startles)
    1. A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
      • 1845, George Hooker Colton, James Davenport Whelpley, The American review Chapter 1, The figure of a man heaving in sight amidst these wide solitudes, always causes a startle and thrill of expectation and doubt, similar to the feeling produced by the announcement of " a strange sail ahead" on shipboard, during a long voyage.

    Derived terms

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