The phrase "already startled" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe someone who has been surprised or shocked prior to a certain moment or event.
Example: "When she heard the loud noise, she was already startled and jumped at the sudden sound."
Alternatives: "previously shocked" or "already surprised".
But the events here have already startled the global markets, with prices rising sharply.
The two builders have already startled some of the people who might ultimately benefit from their new venture.
Standard & Poor's already startled French officials when it erroneously sent an e-mail on Nov. 10 that suggested it had lowered the rating on France's sovereign debt.
G.E. had already startled Wall Street with lower-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, when the markets seized up with the collapse of Bear Stearns.
In the same way that England can shock Australia's innate sense of superiority, Peacock has already startled all those, including himself, who once dismissed him as a hopelessly shy, spec-wearing nonentity, by being voted the world's best forward.
In August 1971 Furphy amazed many observers – already startled when he became the first manager to allow a pre-match team talk to be televised – when he stepped down a division to accept the challenge of reversing the fortunes of Blackburn Rovers, recently relegated to the Third for the first time.
Spain's already-startling 21% unemployment rate rises to 45% among the young.
And if the service is a tad rockier than at a top hotel - one guest entered his assigned room to find a very startled occupant already there - it is also quicker and far friendlier, and the apologies more profuse.
My wife and I both shoot up from the bed, startled from our already strange dreams which change every hour or so thanks to the little one waking up all night long.
When I told Mays I already had his number, it seemingly startled him.
By the time Talbot crossed the line Bolt had already tossed his baton to a startled trackside official.
