startlement

as in astonishment
the state of being strongly impressed by something unexpected or unusual the look of startlement in her eyes when she found herself at the wedding seated next to her ex-boyfriend

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for startlement
Noun
  • After seven episodes of pained teeth-gritting and wide-eyed astonishment, he’s found closure in confronting the man who killed his father (or not) and finding only a weak old guy too sickly to punch.
    Eliana Dockterman, Time, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Curiosity and astonishment: these have been recurring themes in Quenda’s journey to this point.
    Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • An example would be a war or an oil price shock, or the coronavirus pandemic that caused the February to March 2020 bear market.
    Sarah Min, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Not only the decision to let go of Malone, but the timing of it comes as a bigger shock.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • To no one’s amazement, Shohei Ohtani homered triumphantly in the Tokyo Series.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2025
  • To our collective amazement, the RGB LEDs were able to create wholly recognizable color images.
    Ryan Waniata, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The surprises throughout the series are sacred because that has largely been what makes The White Lotus so exciting for viewers to watch, Bernad adds.
    Liza Esquibias, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • More than anything, the biggest surprise here has to be the presence of the 2024 Finals MVP (Jaylen Brown) on this list, despite appearing in 60 of the Boston Celtics’ 76 games to this point.
    Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Startlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/startlement. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.

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