Startling

How to spell startling

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce startling

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does startling mean?

1. adjectiveSo surprising or unexpected that it causes a sudden reaction.
2. verbPresent participle of startle: causing a sudden shock or jump.

Startling in a sentence

• adjective

  The audit revealed a startling gap in the company accounts.

• verb

  The alarm kept startling the night staff every few minutes.

• adjective

  The survey produced a startling result that nobody on the team had predicted.

• verb

  He was startling the cat by slamming the cupboard door.

Where does startling come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows out of the verb 'startle', which traces back to the Old English styrtan, meaning 'to leap, caper, or move suddenly'. By the Middle Ages 'startle' had become a frequentative form, describing repeated or sudden jerking movements, and it is closely related to the everyday verb 'start' in its older sense of a sudden jump rather than a beginning. Over the 1500s and 1600s the meaning settled into the idea of causing or feeling a sharp jolt of surprise. The present participle 'startling' came to be used as an adjective for anything that produces that jolt, that is, something so surprising it almost makes you flinch. The spelling keeps the silent middle by following 'startle' directly: drop the final 'e', then add '-ing', which is why writers must remember the 'tl' cluster rather than simplifying it.

How the word is built

• startl- (from startle, to cause sudden surprise)
• -ing (participle/adjective suffix)