Startle Meaning
/ˈstɑːt(ə)l/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
verbTo excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
Sentence Examples
I didn't mean to startle you.
We don't want to startle anyone.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sudden crash of thunder will ____ the relaxed cat and make it jump.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sudden loud noise from the street was enough to ____ the cat, which ran and hid under the sofa.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Why shrinks the soul / Back on herself, and startles at destruction?"
— 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 56:
"He felt, too, that he was acting unjustly by Ethel: he had allowed a fortnight to elapse—he startled when he numbered up the days; it is strange how we allow them to glide imperceptibly away."
— 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Proposal of Marriage”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 127:
"The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us."
— 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:
"Nothing could startle her, make her scold or make her cry. She did not complain, she did not rebel."
— 1896, Joseph Conrad, chapter I, in An Outcast of the Islands, London: T. Fisher Unwin […], →OCLC, part I, page 10:
"The high voice in the night air startled me. Without thinking, I started to run. Then stopped. I spun around, my heart heaving against my chest. And saw a boy. About my age."
— 1997, R. L. Stine, Say Cheese and Die, Again!:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sudden crash of thunder will ____ the relaxed cat and make it jump.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sudden loud noise from the street was enough to ____ the cat, which ran and hid under the sofa.