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.

McVay initially yelled and tried to make herself bigger to startle away the predator.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

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

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 word itself had lost little of its power to startle and had, due to my ignorance of the physical place it occupied on the globe, assumed a peculiar life of its own.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt