startle

It triggers an automatic "startle response" to any loud noise.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

Few people who have been on the national stage this long retain an ability to startle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 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

In the documentary, we see Lopez share Affleck’s love letters with her musicians to inspire them — something that seemed to startle him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024

“Excuse me. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was noticing your hair. It has reddish highlights when the sun hits it.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

More than 60 years on, the scene still startles.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

But it’s Lindsey’s James who startles the play out its predictable maneuvers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

When something startles the flightless birds, they can be seen sprinting around the edges of their enclosures, flailing their long necks around.

From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2022

A burst of laughter from the party startles me, and I keep running back to my room.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

Black said he was startled, although not totally surprised.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

"The two US deportees looked startled and kept asking which country is this and where it is," said a source.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

If I needed to grab Cosmo, I’d raise my hand high to let his one eye warily track me so he wouldn’t get startled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

She said some birds do not die instantly when shot and instead get startled in the dark and collide with things, but Pellen said that was "not true at all".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Then, when the rest of us burst out laughing, she looks away from the window, startled.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Aerial reporters possess a peculiar intimacy with listeners, their voices and visuals filling cars and houses with their personalities as well as useful, even startling, real-time information.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

The chain told customers that the affected Taylor Farms lettuce had been removed and invited them, with almost startling confidence, to come back.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

But that is by design, said INRIA's Serena Ivaldi, as the robots "have to act in human environments" without startling the people they help.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

In truth, Cohn’s startling youth, aggressive courtroom tactics, distinctive demeanor and penchant for self-promotion accounted for more press coverage than he genuinely warranted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

When Maggie came in, Elisha jumped from behind the parlor door, startling her.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock