startled

UK/ˈstɑːt.l̩d/US/ˈstɑɹt.l̩d/

adjectiveB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,392 of 15,258leans spoken

Startled means jolted by something sudden. The half-second before you realise it was only the cat.

The word describes a state and, above all, a face: a startled expression, a startled look, startled eyes. It is used constantly of animals, since a startled horse or a startled bird is a real and dangerous thing. It is milder than frightened and much briefer, because being startled lasts a moment and then passes. English pairs it neatly with the sound that caused it, as in startled by the bang.

Definitions of startled

1adjectivestartledSuddenly surprised or frightened for a moment.B2
“She gave a startled cry.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Moods & Relationships

First appears in chapter 3 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

startled in the wild

But when they flee from the observer or are otherwise startled or excited, both species alike give a variety of longer or shorter alarm calls.
Tattler (bird)
In 1935, after accidentally spilling water on Massa, which startled him and prompted him to attack, Lintz sold him to the Philadelphia Zoo.
Massa (gorilla)
However, the victim believed the bear was actually after berries and was simply startled by the boy's sudden arrival.
Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
Bicyclus angulosa, the startled bush brown, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Bicyclus angulosa

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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