Startling

//ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 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."

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of startle form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 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."

Adjective
  1. 1
    so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
surprisingabruptalarmingalarmingamazingastonishing

Antonyms

All antonyms
dreich

Example

More examples

"Doctors have discovered some startling facts."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.