# staring vs startling

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### staring
*verb · IPA /ˈstɛəɹɪŋ/ · frequency rank #5,734*
present participle and gerund of stare

### startling
*verb · IPA /ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #17,252*
present participle and gerund of startle

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/staring-vs-startling