- 1
To give someone a sudden small shock — the jump you make when a door bangs behind you or a cat leaps out of a bush. The key is that it is sudden and brief, and much milder than 'frighten' or 'scare': being startled lasts a second, and afterwards you often laugh.
To give someone a sudden small shock指的是給某人一個突然的小驚嚇 the jump you make when a door bangs behind you or a cat leaps out of a bush就像身後的門突然砰一聲、或貓突然從灌木叢跳出來時你嚇一跳的那種反應 The key is that it is sudden and brief重點是它很突然、也很短暫 and much milder than 'frighten' or 'scare'而且比 'frighten' 或 'scare' 溫和很多 being startled lasts a second被 startle 的感覺只持續一秒 and afterwards you often laugh事後你通常還會笑出來
It is normally the thing that startles you, and it very often happens without anyone meaning it: 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you' is what you say when you have walked up quietly behind a colleague. It is used a lot of animals, which are startled by noise and then run.
It is normally the thing that startles you通常是某個東西讓你 startle and it very often happens without anyone meaning it而且常常不是任何人故意的 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you' is what you say「Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you」是你會說的話 when you have walked up quietly behind a colleague當你不小心悄悄走到同事背後的時候 It is used a lot of animals這個詞也常用在動物身上 which are startled by noise and then run牠們被聲音嚇到之後就會跑走
In the passive — 'I was startled by the news' — it shifts slightly towards 'surprised and rather shaken', with no physical jump involved. It is a slightly word; in everyday talk many people just say 'You scared me!' even when they only mean startled.
In the passive用被動式的時候 'I was startled by the news'像 'I was startled by the news' it shifts slightly towards 'surprised and rather shaken'意思會稍微偏向「驚訝、有點震動」 with no physical jump involved而不涉及真的跳起來的動作 It is a slightly bookish word這是個有點書面的詞 in everyday talk many people just say 'You scared me!'日常對話裡很多人就只說 'You scared me!' even when they only mean startled即使他們其實只是想表達 startled 的意思
There is also a rarer noun 'startle', mostly in technical writing about the reflex ('the startle response').
There is also a rarer noun 'startle'還有一個比較少見的名詞 'startle' mostly in technical writing about the reflex主要出現在講反射動作的技術性文章裡 ('the startle response')像 ('the startle response')
組成From Old English steartlian 'to kick, struggle, stumble', made from 'start' plus the ending -le, which in old verbs suggests a small or repeated action. The link is real: 'start' itself once meant to jump or move suddenly — a meaning still alive in 'She sat up with a start'.
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
startleverb/ˈstɑːt(ə)l/
- 1
To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
- a horse that startles easily
- Why shrinks the soul / Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
- 2
To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
- The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us.
- Nothing could startle her, make her scold or make her cry. She did not complain, she did not rebel.
- 3
obsoleteTo deter; to cause to deviate.
- it would blast all their hopes, and startle all other princes from joining
- As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.
startlenoun/ˈstɑːt(ə)l/
- 1
A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
- The figure of a man heaving in sight amidst these wide solitudes, always causes a startle and thrill of expectation and doubt, similar to the feeling produced by the announcement of " a strange sail ahead" on shipboard, during a long voyage.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。