Which to use
“start” is a noun and “startle” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #248
- “start” frequency rank
- #42,422
- “startle” frequency rank
- 42670
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | start | startle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The beginning of an activity. | To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start. |
Where the eye mixes start and startle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between start and startle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: start is /stɑːt/ while startle is /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “start” sits inside “startle”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42670, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
start is recorded at frequency rank #248, classified as anoun, pronounced /stɑːt/. startle is at rank #42,422, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 42670, this pair ranks #247,142 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of start vs startle
Shared letters: arst. Private to "start": -. Private to "startle": el.
"start" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "startle" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "start" for "startle" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "start" or "startle" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "start" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "startle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,142 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "start" and "startle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "starkly vs startle". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #247,142 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.