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
It triggers an automatic "startle response" to any loud noise.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 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
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
Elodin spoke, seeming to startle everyone at the table.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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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