startle (n.)

  1. a sudden involuntary movement; he awoke with a start

    [ Syn: jump , start ]

    startle (v.)

  1. to stimulate to action ; ..startled him awake; galvanized into action

    [ Syn: galvanize , galvanise ]

  2. move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm; She startled when I walked into the room

    [ Syn: jump , start ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.