startle

v., -tled, -tling, -tles.

v.tr.

1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start.
2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See synonyms at frighten.

v.intr.

To become alarmed, frightened, or surprised.

n.

A sudden mild shock; a start.

[Middle English stertlen, to run about, from Old English steartlian, to kick.]

startlingly star'tling·ly adv.
startlingness star'tling·ness n.

verb

1. To cause to experience a sudden momentary shock: electrify, jolt, shock¹. See excite/bore/interest, surprise/expect.
2. To fill with fear: affright, alarm, frighten, panic, scare, scarify², terrify, terrorize. Archaic fright. Idioms: make one's blood run cold, make one's hair stand on end, scaresillystiff, scare the daylights out of. See fear/courage.
3. To impress strongly by what is unexpected or unusual: amaze, astonish, astound, awe, surprise. Idioms: catchtakeunawares, take aback. See surprise/expect.

noun

A sudden and involuntary movement: bolt, jump, start. See move/halt.

v

Definition: frighten, surprise
Antonyms: calm, comfort, compose, expect, put at ease

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IN BRIEF: To frighten suddenly, but not seriously.

Children love to startle their parents by surprising them as they come around a corner.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - overraske, forskrække, vække op, jage op
v. intr. - vågne op med et sæt, blive sky, blive forskrækket
n. - overraskelse, forskrækkelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
laten schrikken, verrast worden, verrassing

Français (French)
v. tr. - surprendre, effrayer, faire sursauter
v. intr. - sursauter
n. - surprise, sursaut

Deutsch (German)
v. - erschrecken
n. - Schreck

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ξαφνιάζω, αιφνιδιάζω, εκπλήσσω

Italiano (Italian)
spaventare, sconcertare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - assustar

Русский (Russian)
испуг, испугать, встревожить, сильно удивить, вздрагивать, побуждать (к действию)

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - asustar, sobresaltar, consternar
v. intr. - sobresaltarse, saltar, moverse súbitamente
n. - susto, sobresalto

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - skrämma, överraska, väcka

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
吃惊, 使惊愕, 惊吓, 惊奇, 惊跳

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 吃驚, 使驚愕
v. intr. - 驚嚇, 驚奇, 驚跳
n. - 驚嚇, 吃驚, 驚跳

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 깜짝 놀라게 하다, 펄쩍 뛰게 하다, 깜짝 놀라게 해서 ~되게 하다
v. intr. - 깜짝 놀라다, 펄쩍 뛰다, 소스라치다
n. - 놀람, 깜짝 놀라게 하는 것

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - びっくりさせる
n. - 驚くこと, 驚かせること

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) أجفل, أفزع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮החריד, הקפיץ, זעזע‬
v. intr. - ‮נרתע, קפץ, התחלחל‬
n. - ‮חלחלה, רתיעה‬

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