different between affright vs startle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f?a?t/

Etymology 1

From Middle English afrighten, from Old English ?fyrhtan, equivalent to a- +? fright.

Noun

affright (plural affrights)

1. (archaic) Great fear, terror, fright.
   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 563:

     […] Then behold, there came up to us a huge fish, as big as a tall mountain, at whose sight we became wild for affright and, weeping sore, made ready for death, marvelling at its vast size and gruesome semblance; when lo! a second fish made its appearance than which we had seen naught more monstrous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fear

Verb

affright (third-person singular simple present affrights, present participle affrighting, simple past and past participle affrighted)

1. (archaic, transitive) To terrify, to frighten, to inspire fright in.
   • 1629, John Milton, On the Morning of Christ's Nativity

     A drear and dying sound / Affrights the flamens at their service quaint.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frighten

Etymology 2

From Middle English afright, from Old English ?fyrht (“terrified; afraid”), past participle of ?fyrhtan (“to terrify; make afraid”).

Alternative forms

• afright

Adjective

affright (comparative more affright, superlative most affright)

1. afraid; terrified; frightened

English

Etymology

From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen (“to rush, stumble along”), from Old English steartlian (“to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble”), equivalent to start +? -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla (“to hobble, stagger”), Icelandic stirtla (“to straighten up, erect”). Compare also Middle English stertil (“hasty”). More at start.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?st??t(?)l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?st??t(?)l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t?l

Verb

startle (third-person singular simple present startles, present participle startling, simple past and past participle startled)

1. (intransitive) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.

   • Why shrinks the soul / Back on herself, and startles at destruction?

2. (transitive) 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.

   • 1896, Joseph Conrad, "An Outcast of the Islands"

     Nothing could startle her, make her scold or make her cry. She did not complain, she did not rebel.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To deter; to cause to deviate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Clarendon to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (to move suddenly): start
• (to excite suddenly): alarm, frighten, scare, surprise
• (deter): deter

Derived terms

• startling

Translations

Noun

startle (plural startles)

1. A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.

Derived terms

• startler
• startlish

Translations

See also

• skittish

Anagrams

• Slatter, Stalter, Statler, rattles, slatter, starlet