startle

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɑːt.(ə)l/
• IPA^(key): /ˈstɑɹt.(ə)l/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)təl

Verb

1. (intransitive) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.

   a horse that startles easily

   • (Can we date this quote by Joseph Addison and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Why shrinks the soul / Back on herself, and startles at destruction?

2. (transitive) To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
   • (Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us.

   • 1896, Joseph Conrad, "An Outcast of the Islands"

     Nothing could startle her, make her scold or make her cry. She did not complain, she did not rebel.

   • 1997, R. L. Stine, Say Cheese and Die, Again!:

     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.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To deter; to cause to deviate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Clarendon to this entry?)

   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.

Synonyms

• (to move suddenly): start
• (to excite suddenly): alarm, frighten, scare, surprise
• (deter): deter

Derived terms

• startling

Translations

to move or be excited on feeling alarm

• Czech: leknout se
• Dutch: schrikken (nl)
• Finnish: hätkähtää, kavahtaa (fi), säikähtää (fi)
• French: sursauter (fr)
• German: aufschrecken, scheuen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: scattare (it), sobbalzare
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• Maori: ohomauri, whakapererū, tumeke
• Spanish: sobresaltar (es)se, alarmar (es)se, espantarse (es)

to excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嚇了一跳／吓了一跳, 吓了一跳 (xià le yí tiào)

• Czech: vylekat se pf
• Dutch: laten schrikken
• Esperanto: alarmi
• Finnish: säikäyttää (fi), hätkäyttää
• French: surprendre (fr)
• German: erschrecken (de)
• Greek: ξαφνιάζω (el) (xafniázo), αιφνιδιάζω (el) (aifnidiázo)
• Hebrew: הבהיל m (hevhil)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: spaventare (it), sorprendere (it)
• Japanese: 脅かす (ja) (おどかす, odokasu)
• Latin: consternō, pavefaciō
• Maori: whakapereru
• Old English: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: assustar (pt), dar um susto
• Russian: пуга́ть (ru) impf (pugátʹ), испуга́ть (ru) pf (ispugátʹ), напуга́ть (ru) pf (napugátʹ)
• Swedish: spritta (sv)
• Thai: ความตกใจ (kwaam dtòk jai)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

to deter; to cause to deviate

• Czech: odstrašit pf, zastrašit pf
• Finnish: harhauttaa (fi)
• Italian: schivare (it), evitare (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: terreō
• Spanish: evitar (es), impedir (es)

Noun

startle (plural startles)

1. A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
   • 1845, George Hooker Colton, James Davenport Whelpley, chapter 1, in The American review:

     The figure of a man heaving in sight amidst these wide solitudes, always causes a startle and thrill of expectation and doubt, similar to the feeling produced by the announcement of " a strange sail ahead" on shipboard, during a long voyage.

Derived terms

• startler
• startlish

Translations

a sudden motion or shock

• Czech: leknutí n
• Finnish: hätkähdys (fi)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: sobresalto (es) m

See also

• skittish

Anagrams

• Stalter, Statler, rattles, slatter, starlet