startled 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in surprised

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in alarmed

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

startled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of startle
1
as in stunned
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected the lightning startled the children and sent them scurrying for cover

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jumped
to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise) the cat startled when the door slammed shut with a bang

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in frightened
to strike with fear loud noises always startle her

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of startled
Adjective
Even general manager Jonah Kaplan is a little startled by the café’s increasing popularity. — Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026 As a Flamengo defender attempted to pass the ball to a teammate, the blue-and-yellow bird dove straight toward him, sending the startled teen crashing to the ground in a panic. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026 TikTok user Aubrey Birrell posted a video of her startled reaction to her San Diego, California, Airbnb on July 2. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2026 One of them who’d worked with Juliatra-Monoth gave him a startled look. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 26 June 2026 Ahn seems mildly startled to hear his own consistency read back to him. — Joshua Encinias, IndieWire, 17 June 2026 During the lead-up to this month’s primary elections, some voters in Placer County were startled to receive a text message with an image that looked like a law enforcement logo. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 14 June 2026 Robinson was startled to discover that this applicant intended to sell guns from his apartment in a building downtown, a few blocks from Camden Yards. — Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 1 June 2026 Plans first unveiled to a startled Fox News host, Laura Ingraham. — ABC News, 17 May 2026
Verb
The 10-episode first season (critics received six for review) opens in the early hours of the morning, when Anna is startled awake by a phone call. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 Witness Hoon Chan Sim, 53, was sitting on a park lawn with his dog near West Drive when he was startled by the squeal of braking tires, and spun around to see the horrific collision. — Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026 Wildlife experts say black bears are strong climbers and may scale trees, utility poles or other tall structures when startled by people, traffic or dogs. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026 Indeed, Hartstone-Rose and his colleagues noted in their 2020 paper that some of the animals could have been startled by the humans, but the researchers weren’t sure. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 23 July 2026 Stone Mountain, Georgia — Jean Shifrin was hiking up a steep mountain trail on the Fourth of July when she was startled by something approaching her from behind. — John Blake, CNN Money, 19 July 2026 Exactly two years ago tomorrow, an unexpected visitor startled a homeowner in Hillsborough, New Jersey. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 July 2026 The owner was reportedly startled and dropped the leash before the two animals fought, DEEP officials said. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 9 July 2026 Pochettino’s sources of American sports culture inspiration There were some aspects of American culture, and specifically American sports culture, that clearly startled Pochettino. — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for startled
  1. surprised
  2. alarmed
  3. stunned
  4. jumped
  5. frightened
  6. awed
  7. terrified
  8. amazed
Adjective
  • The order’s singling out of ibogaine, the only psychedelic mentioned by name, surprised analysts, given how much less research exists on it than on psilocybin or MDMA.
    — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Is there anything that people would be surprised to know about you?
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of surprised
Adjective
  • Chan's death comes after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton also alarmed fans on a TikTok livestream when police were called to his home after reports of self-harm.
    — Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Bullard said after practice that the injury wasn’t anything to be alarmed about.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of alarmed
Verb
  • He was surrounded by family, twelve sets of hands holding his lifeless body, sending him onward with heartache and love and stunned disbelief.
    — Dr. Lucy McBride, Time, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Around them stood reminders of the 33-year-old woman whose death in a shooting last weekend stunned people across Kansas City.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of stunned
Verb
  • Prosecutors say after killing her children, Clancy cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window, leaving her partially paralyzed.
    — Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • On the fourth rep, Nixon jumped an out route and had a chance for an interception, but dropped it.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of jumped
Verb
  • Fig, a dog from Tulare County, disappeared after becoming frightened by fireworks and gunfire during Fourth of July celebrations, according to authorities.
    — Denis Akbari, USA Today, 22 July 2026
  • Fig, an Australian shepherd, ran away from home after getting frightened by July Fourth fireworks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 July 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • Maxwell, a fiction editor at The New Yorker, drew upon his own awed discovery of France in 1948; the novel’s opening paragraphs show one of the protagonists weeping at the sight of the French shore.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
  • But credit Neill for both understanding the assignment and not quite settling for those awed stares of Spielbergian wonder.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of awed
Adjective
  • During the attack, terrified students huddled together under their desks, sobbing as gunshots rang out nearby, video filmed inside a classroom and verified by CNN showed.
    — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • At a news conference, Twin Falls police released dramatic surveillance video that showed terrified employees diving for cover and shielding one another.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrified
Verb
  • Just before halftime, van Persie slipped past the Spanish defensive line to receive a long-range pass from teammate Daley Blind and looped the ball over Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas with a first-time diving header that amazed the audience.
    — Tushaar Kuthiala, Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 July 2026
  • When Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone at America’s Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, the invention amazed the crowd.
    — David H. Hsu, Fortune, 11 May 2026
Definition of amazed

Browse Nearby Words

startle
startled
startlement
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Startled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/startled. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on startled

Nglish: Translation of startled for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All