startle

It was a startling moment that was emblematic of the attack his presidency has launched against inclusivity programmes that have proliferated in recent years across the US government and corporate world.

"They kept on saying: the ring, the ring! And I was so startled that it didn't compute for a minute," she told Letterman.

In the initial days after Valerie went missing, other campers spotted her underneath a parked car which startled the dog and sent her fleeing into bushland, the Washington Post reported.

The officers appeared startled and possibly even scared by his size.

They’re easily startled and may arch their back and splay their hands, as if to say, “The world is stressful for me.”