startle

He understands how to keep viewers vigilant, how to shock them and startle them as soon as they think they know where he’s headed.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Sudden explosive noise, concussive blasts, and bright flashes have the potential to startle young birds, creating unnecessary risk during a critical period of development.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 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

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

I startle awake from the dream, flustered and irritated with myself.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

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

“They’re a bit of a nuisance, especially if one takes off from a bush next to people and startles them,” Knight said.

From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024

Whether seeing the fear in combatants and civilians alike or observing how societal ills followed young servicemembers to the front, Lagoze startles in his prose just as he did in his 2019 documentary, “Combat Obscura.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2023

He startles, and his foot—missing a sock—strikes something hard and sharp-edged.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

The difference also appeared across all 37 bird species examined, including easily startled magpies and pigeons that typically allow people to approach much more closely.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

Most black bear “attacks” are actually defensive actions, and generally take place if an animal is protecting cubs, startled or scared, according to the department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

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

Christopher was startled to see how unafraid she seemed of the sphinx.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

He has always had a way with startling, colorful imagery, sometimes specific and clear, other times enigmatic but moving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

The red, as startling as a cymbal clap, strikes the eye, but the impending drama remains out of sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

"I've never heard that before but that was heard again later in the wildfire season. That was startling," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The private life of disgraced Silicon Valley startup founder Elizabeth Holmes will soon be aired to the public in a startling new documentary filmed in the 34 days before she went to prison.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Often you will be plodding through the sanctuary of woods when suddenly a car will sail past through the trees only forty or fifty feet away—a perennially startling sight.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson