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Startle vs Excite - What's the difference?

startle | excite | Related terms |

In transitive terms the difference between startle and excite

is that startle is to excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise while excite is to arouse or bring out (eg feelings); to stimulate.

As verbs the difference between startle and excite

is that startle is to move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start while excite is to stir the emotions of.

As a noun startle

is a sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.

startle

English

Verb

(startl)
  • (label) To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
  • * (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
    • Why shrinks the soul / Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
  • (label) To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
    • 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.
  • * , title=Say Cheese and Die, Again!
    • , passage=The high voice in the night air startled me. Without thinking, I started to run. Then stopped. I spun around, my heart heaving against my chest. And saw a boy. About my age.}}
  • To deter; to cause to deviate.
    • (Clarendon)
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title= “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=Ep./4/2
    • , passage=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.}}

    Synonyms

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

    Derived terms

    * (l)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1845 , author=George Hooker Colton, James Davenport Whelpley , title=The American review , chapter=1 , passage=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.}}

    Derived terms

    * (l) * (l)

    See also

    * (l)

    Anagrams

    *

    excite

    English

    Verb

    (excit)
  • To stir the emotions of.
    • The fireworks which opened the festivities excited anyone present.
  • To arouse or bring out (eg feelings); to stimulate.
    • Favoritism tends to excite jealousy in the ones not being favored.
    The political reforms excited unrest among to population.
    There are drugs designed to excite certain nerves in our body.
  • (physics) To cause an electron to move to a higher than normal state; to promote an electron to an outer level.
    • By applying electric potential to the neon atoms, the electrons become excited , then emit a photon when returning to normal.

    Antonyms

    * relax, calm

    Related terms

    * excitement

    External links

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