startle
/ˈstɑːt(ə)l/
"startle" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“startle” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,422 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #42,422
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 19
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | startle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #42,422 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 19 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “startle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for startle is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,422 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for startle, with forms such as "satrtle", "sstartle", and "starlte". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "state", "statue", "starve", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen (“to rush, stumble along”), from Old English steartlian (“to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble”), equivalent to start + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla (“to hobble, stagger”), Icelandic stirtla (“to… The correct English form is startle, spelled S-T-A-R-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
- 2To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
- 3To deter; to cause to deviate.
Etymology
From Middle English startlen, stertlen, stertyllen (“to rush, stumble along”), from Old English steartlian (“to kick with the foot, struggle, stumble”), equivalent to start + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stirtla (“to hobble, stagger”), Icelandic stirtla (“to straighten up, erect”). Compare also Middle English stertil (“hasty”). More at start.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: satrtle,sstartle,starlte,starrtle,startel,startlle,starttle,statrle,stratle,sttartle,tsartle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of startle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "startle"?
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Using “startle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-A-R-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɑːt(ə)l/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “state” - see the side-by-side comparison. startle vs state
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.