startle
UK /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/ · US /ˈstɑɹt(ə)l/ verb, noun
Forms startles startling startled
- verb (intransitive) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start. “a horse that startles easily”
- verb (transitive) To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To deter; to cause to deviate.
- noun A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
Synonyms
start alarm frighten scare surprise deter jump galvanize galvanise
Etymology
From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen (“to rush, stumble along”), from Old English steartlian (“to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble”), equivalent to start + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla (“to hobble, stagger”), Icelandic stirtla (“to straighten up, erect”). Compare also Middle English stertil (“hasty”). More at start.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
- verb To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
- verb To deter; to cause to deviate. [R.] Clarendon.
- noun A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
Etymology [Freq. of start.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “startle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details