as in astonishment
the state of being strongly impressed by something unexpected or unusual
the look of startlement in her eyes when she found herself at the wedding seated next to her ex-boyfriend
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for startlement
Noun
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For Córdova, that path began with a moment of astonishment: watching a television program about neutron stars as a young woman, she was struck by the immensity of the cosmos and felt the pull of a question that would guide her for a lifetime — how does the universe work?—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025 -
Then, to my astonishment, two slender blue-white streaks appeared, faintly at first, then slightly brighter, like a pair of angel wings peeking through some wondrous celestial realm.—
Blane Bachelor,
AFAR Media,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Investors have learned to position themselves for both the initial shock of aggressive announcements and the subsequent backpedaling that typically follows.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
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Narrating what happened with the boy in the autopsy room turned out to be wholly different from experiencing it; the riptide shock of that moment slowed to a largo of painful excavation.—
Danielle Ofri,
New Yorker,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Within three weeks, to Akasha’s amazement, Shimshai was up to 40 orders a day.—
Andy Greenberg,
Wired News,
22 May 2025
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This spectacle of breezy contempt regarding questions of process and policy was humiliating, for sure, but hardly an amazement.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Even still, King says that being chosen for Reese’s Book Club was a surprise.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
3 June 2025
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This strike, as far east as Siberia and as far north as the Arctic, was only a surprise insofar as Ukrainian security forces cleverly organized it in a way that the Russians could not effectively counter.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
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“Startlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/startlement. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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