startle

His lyrics also startle the way poems do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

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 next thing Ms Lees knew, the kangaroo had launched towards her car, which she had slowed to a crawl so as not to startle the animal, and started to attack it.

From BBC ● May 23, 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

Daw? he says, laughing loud enough to startle the few kids in the lunchroom who weren’t paying attention.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

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

The pop of a champagne bottle in the kitchen quickly startles the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2024

What probably startles beginning bromeliad growers most, even after providing diligent care, is the inevitable decline of the original or mother plant after it flowers.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

Vinegar is the last, vital touch, the sourness that twangs the nerve and startles the other flavors into focus.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2022

A flash of white startles me from my thoughts.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration had been startled when Trudeau’s government discreetly asked British intelligence chiefs to start discussing how they might band together if the U.S. left Five Eyes, the U.S.-led intelligence-sharing alliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

A man was startled to find a black bear in the front seat of a pickup truck in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

From BBC ● 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

The initial announcement of SpaceX’s bond sale had startled some investors, some of whom sold their shares.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

His startled thought, as they turned to each other, was that she did, in that moment, look eternal.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

“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 fall of Brendan Rodgers, and Dermot Desmond's startling evisceration of a celebrated manager, could only be rivalled if Celtic's major shareholder suddenly takes a flamethrower to his relationship with O'Neill.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Even at 5-foot-10, he drives the ball far enough to keep up and does so with startling accuracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

“It’s easier for them to categorize it that way,” Wanda said from the doorway, startling them all.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro