startle

Plural: startles

Noun

a sudden involuntary movement
A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.

Verb

Verb Forms: startled, startling, startles

To surprise or frighten someone suddenly.
to stimulate to action
- "..startled him awake"
move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm
- "She startled when I walked into the room"
To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
To deter; to cause to deviate.

Examples

a horse that startles easily
The opponent’s unexpected bingo play managed to startle the seasoned Scrabble player.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen (“to rush, stumble along”), from Old English steartlian (“to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble”), equivalent to start + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla (“to hobble, stagger”), Icelandic stirtla (“to straighten up, erect”). Compare also Middle English stertil (“hasty”). More at start.

Synonyms

galvanise, galvanize, jump, start, alarm, deter, frighten, scare, surprise

Scrabble Score: 7

startle: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
startle: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
startle: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

startle: valid Words With Friends Word