dismay vs startle

dismay

verb
  • To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay. 

  • To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet. 

  • To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy 

noun
  • A sudden or complete loss of courage and firmness in the face of trouble or danger; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits 

  • Condition fitted to dismay; ruin. 

startle

verb
  • To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise. 

  • To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start. 

noun
  • A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger. 

How often have the words dismay and startle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )