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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Williams played to an adoring crowd at Austin's Westwood Country Club in two matches at the ATX Open this past week and left players and fans alike in astonishment at her ability to still bang with some of the best young players in the game.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026 -
Entomologist Dmitry Telnov, who participated in the expedition, expressed particular astonishment at the find.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Vokietaitis even managed to draw a foul call on the opening tip, much to the amazement of Miller and his team.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Feb. 2026
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To my amazement, up shot Leo’s hand.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This was an aberrance by definition and by form; our collective sanity depends on retaining the ability to parse out instances of this kind of ambient shock and pain.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
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In return, the Guard became his loyal shock force.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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By Saturday morning, the US and Israel had launched a surprise attack on Iran.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
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Wall Street has continually expressed its pleasant surprise at how remarkably well consumers have held up since the pandemic.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Startlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/startlement. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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