# startled vs starved

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### startled
*adjective · IPA /ˈstɑɹt.l̩d/ · frequency rank #19,473*
Surprised and slightly frightened.

### starved
*adjective · frequency rank #15,706*
Approaching starvation, emaciated and malnourished.

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