startle

This wild and impolitic work startled civilized Parisian salons with what sounded like sheer ugliness.

I think maybe I startled it, and then when I blew the whistle, I for sure startled it, and I think it was just curious at that point.

What happened in the first quarter of this century is already being weaponized in a startling fashion in the second era of Donald Trump.

Around the corner, on Crosby Street, the people with RVs have been happy — if, initially, a bit startled — to see nearby restaurants, a supermarket and a gym bustling.

The deafening roar of the aircraft startled nearby livestock, sending cattle into panicked stampedes.