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startling

[ stahrt-ling, stahr-tl-ing ]

/ ˈstɑrt lɪŋ, ˈstɑr tl ɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR startling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

creating sudden alarm, surprise, or wonder; astonishing.

Origin of startling

startle + -ing²

OTHER WORDS FROM startling

star·tling·ly, adverb un·star·tling, adjective

Words nearby startling

starting stalls, startle, startle colour, startle epilepsy, startle reflex, startling, startup, starvation, starvation wages, starve, starveling

Example sentences from the Web for startlingly

He is a startlingly brilliant bassist, as accomplished in classical music as in jazz.

The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest |Nat Hentoff |October 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Edith Wharton, of course, writes in such a startlingly sharp and close-grained way about how people live.

How I Write: Meg Wolitzer |Noah Charney |March 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Barack Obama has completely distracted attention from the startlingly right-wing government that Bibi installed on Monday.

Lapid Lost, Obama Distracts |Gershom Gorenberg |March 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The second half of the film, in particular, is startlingly effective.

Meet the Germans Having Sex to Save the World |Marlow Stern |March 13, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

There was a time when the average Briton or American belonged to a startlingly large number of clubs and societies.

A More Civil Society |Noah Kristula-Green |July 11, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The result will be so startlingly beautiful that no further words will be necessary.

One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed |C. A. Bogardus
He had watched a program just last month, and it had been startlingly lifelike.

Cost of Living |Robert Sheckley
The same aquiline nose and gray eyes, but how startlingly different he looked.

Crossed Trails in Mexico |Nell Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley
His face was the colour of lead, his eyes were startlingly bloodshot.

The Isle of Unrest |Henry Seton Merriman
They spring from a pantheistic philosophy in many respects, startlingly resembling those of modern times.

Mystics and Saints of Islam |Claud Field

British Dictionary definitions for startlingly

startling

/ (ˈstɑːtlɪŋ) /

adjective

causing surprise or fear; striking; astonishing

Derived forms of startling

startlingly, adverb