Word.ws English Dictionary

startling

Syllables: start·ling/ˈstɑː.tl̩.ɪŋ/US/ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ/

startling is the present participle and gerund of startle.

Meaning of startle

Verb

startle (third-person singular simple present startles, present participle startling, simple past and past participle startled)

  1. (intransitive) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
    • a horse that startles easily
    Synonyms:
    start
  2. (transitive) To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
    • The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us.1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To deter; to cause to deviate.
    • it would blast all their hopes, and startle all other princes from joining1660, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England
    Synonyms:
    deter

See all 4 meanings of startle

Adjective

startling (comparative more startling, superlative most startling)

  1. Likely to startle; surprising; shocking.
    • That startling admission capped a miserable night for City as they arrived in Germany following an unbeaten start to the season.2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport
    Synonyms:
    alarming

Noun

startling (plural startlings)

  1. A startle; a sudden motion or shock.
    • Soon the formications and muscular debility returned, not alone, but accompanied with painful cramps and startlings in the feet and calves of the legs.1853, The Scottish Review

Synonyms of startling

Forms of startling

Adjective
comparativemore startling
superlativemost startling
Noun
pluralstartlings

Words formed from startling

Questions about startling

What does startling mean?
Startling means likely to startle; surprising; shocking.
What is startling the present participle and gerund of?
Startling is the present participle and gerund of startle.
What part of speech is startling?
Startling can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce startling?
Startling is pronounced /ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ/ (US).

Words near startling in the dictionary

  1. startler
  2. startlers
  3. startles
  4. startline
  5. startlines
  6. startling
  7. startlingly
  8. startlingness
  9. startlings
  10. startlish
  11. startlishness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: startling (page history and authors); startle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-startling.wav.

Cite this entry: “startling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/startling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.