startled
part of speech
adjective (startled, more startled); verb form (startle, startles, startled, startling)
meaning for a pupil
1) Startled means suddenly surprised or a little frightened by something unexpected, so you jump or stop. tree →
2) Startled is also the past form of «startle», which means to surprise or frighten someone suddenly. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, «startled» shows a quick, sudden fright: a character jumps at a noise. In nature lessons and safety, animals that are startled may run away, kick or bite, so children learn to move slowly and quietly near horses, dogs and wild animals. Phrases: «startled by», «a startled look», «startled out of».
examples
- The cat was startled by the loud bang. tree →
- She gave a startled cry. tree →
- Don't startle the horse by running behind it. tree →
- The deer looked up, startled, and ran away. tree →
- I was startled when my phone rang. tree →
- A startled dog may bite, so let it see you coming. tree →
- He was startled out of his sleep. tree →
- The startled birds flew off the fence. tree →
- “Bill Jukes dead!” cried the startled pirates. tree →
note
«Startled» is both an adjective and the past form of «startle». It describes a sudden, short surprise; «scared» or «terrified» are stronger and last longer. Do not confuse with «started» (began). «Startling» describes the thing that causes the surprise: «startling news».
In the corpora
- A girl in Kentucky walked right behind a horse without speaking; it was startled, kicked out and bruised her leg badly.
- A boy in Texas woke his hamster in the daytime by poking it; the startled hamster bit his finger hard.
- Do not rush or push past an older person walking slowly, because they might fall if pushed or startled.
- At the school disco a group laughs at Sam's dancing — which, to be fair, looks like a startled octopus.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «startled» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.