startle
pronunciation
How to pronounce startle in British English:
UK [ˈstɑːtl]
How to pronounce startle in American English:
US [ˈstɑːrtl]
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- Noun:
- a sudden involuntary movement
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- Verb:
- to stimulate to action
- move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm
Word Origin
- startle (v.)
- c. 1300, "run to and fro" (intransitive), frequentative of sterten (see start (v.)). Sense of "move suddenly in surprise or fear" first recorded 1520s. Transitive meaning "frighten suddenly" is from 1590s. The word retains more of the original meaning of start (v.). Related: Startled; startling; startlingly. As a noun from 1714.
Example
- 1. The researchers found that people given propranolol had a much lower emotional response - measured by a startle reflex - to the images .
- 2. The results will startle you .
- 3. We found that implicit preferences were correlated with potentiated startle , and that both were correlated with the amount of amygdala activation .
- 4. This reflex is also known as the startle reflex , and it gives infants the sense of falling from movement or by hearing a loud noise .
- 5. Military researchers are looking to combine an acoustic gunshot detector with a dazzling laser that will startle shooters who take aim at american helos .