startling
adjective
star·tling
ˈstärt-liŋ 
ˈstär-tᵊl-iŋ
: causing momentary fright, surprise, or astonishment
a startling discovery
startlingly
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of startling in a Sentence
Startling new evidence came to light during the trial.
He made a startling discovery.
It is a city of startling contrasts.
Recent Examples on the Web
As with the startling announcement at Wells, students and faculty at Catalan’s college were shocked.
—
Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2024
Looking closer revealed Pastor Matthew Trewhella’s startling history.
—Phoebe Petrovic, ProPublica, 2 Aug. 2024
In previous work to investigate the startling sparkle, Sweeney and her colleagues determined that despite impressive iridescence, the animals’ fleshy mantles reflect as little as about 5 percent of the bright sunlight hitting them.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2024
But the revelation that a bomb was smuggled inside the guest house, which was under the protection of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, indicates a startling breach of security for the IRGC.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for startling 
Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2024
Looking closer revealed Pastor Matthew Trewhella’s startling history.
—Phoebe Petrovic, ProPublica, 2 Aug. 2024
In previous work to investigate the startling sparkle, Sweeney and her colleagues determined that despite impressive iridescence, the animals’ fleshy mantles reflect as little as about 5 percent of the bright sunlight hitting them.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2024
But the revelation that a bomb was smuggled inside the guest house, which was under the protection of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, indicates a startling breach of security for the IRGC.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for startling
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'startling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near startling
Cite this Entry
“Startling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/startling. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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