How to Use startle in a Sentence

startle

verb

• I'm sorry that I startled you.
• The country wouldn’t startle you awake in the middle of the night.
  — Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2022
• One twin calls the other and is startled by the sound of her own voice.
  — Jean Garnett, The New Yorker, 10 July 2023
• No one was threatened, but the size of the bear did startle residents in the area of The Club at the Strand.
  — Todd Kelly, USA TODAY, 20 June 2022
• Every time a car races out of the fog, the birds startle and scatter.
  — Paul Yoon, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2021
• The knock at the door startled Jenn Carson and her mother, Lynne.
  — Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2023
• Rockefeller and Clark had known about some of this, but the scope startled them.
  — WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
• DePaul, which finished 11th in the 11-team Big East, came out of nowhere to startle No.
  — Dom Amore, courant.com, 12 Mar. 2021
• Here, Edith no longer worried that the pop of gunshots would startle her awake.
  — Freep.com, 18 Apr. 2021
• Sisley isn’t a flashy painter — his work doesn’t grab or startle.
  — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 26 Feb. 2022
• Right then and there, Amanda walked through the door, startling the two women.
  — Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2023
• Again, no need to prove anything, or startle the crows on the wire outside my house.
  — Josh Max, Forbes, 16 June 2022
• An object tumbling from the sky had struck Otero’s Naples, Fla., house with a bang that startled his son.
  — Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
• The video footage showed vendors and shoppers alike startled by the crash landing over their heads.
  — Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 29 June 2023
• The book was published in 2003, and the response from readers startled Peters.
  — Neil Genzlinger, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Mar. 2023
• The fight startled many in the area, and a protest participant with a megaphone called for police to break it up.
  — Madison Dibble, Washington Examiner, 14 May 2020
• Blunt knocks on the window as Gosling startles, his under-eyes looking a bit wet.
  — Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
• Some some take hikes in the woods dressed in their colonial clothes as well as masks—which can startle other hikers.
  — Cameron McWhirter, WSJ, 1 Apr. 2021
• As a friendly reminder: no bright colors, so as not to startle the birds.
  — Jason Siegel, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022
• Streamers attached to branches will flap in the wind and startle animals that like to spend time in trees.
  — Dallas News, 31 Jan. 2022
• Victor is startled by this, maybe even a bit impressed, but not enough to assuage his anger.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes, 7 May 2023
• The first shot seemed to startle the former leader and, a few seconds later, a second shot was fired and Abe collapsed to the ground.
  — Daisuke Wakabayashi, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022
• The defense attorneys knew that the name of their surprise witness would startle the court.
  — Carrie Hagen, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2020
• In the Netherlands, the intimate gaze of the Girl with the Pearl Earring can once again startle and entice visitors.
  — Raf Casert and Peter Dejong, USA TODAY, 2 June 2020
• Every spring morning here, Camelback Ranch is startled with screams that seem to come from nowhere.
  — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024
• The fireflies bobble and dip, drunk in the expanse of the backyard, sometimes appearing close enough to startle me.
  — Karen Brown, The Atlantic, 31 Aug. 2021
• Our findings will startle the rule writers at the CFPB.
  — Thomas Miller Jr. and Todd Zywicki, WSJ, 2 Jan. 2022
• But don’t bolt or scream, as these actions can startle or agitate a bear.
  — Laken Brooks, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2021
• Her newborn daughter, Odessa, heard the noise too and startled, as was expected.
  — Edward Chen, STAT, 5 Apr. 2023
• Okay, there are days in which that enthusiasm might startle the pros.
  — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 9 June 2020

Last Updated: 3 May 2024