taken aback
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The man was clearly taken aback, some of the other patrons chuckling in surprise, the Dodger pulse of this town clearly resonating in a completely unusual fashion.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026
When county clerk Brianna Lennon got an email in November saying a newly expanded federal system had flagged 74 people on the county’s voter roll as potential noncitizens, she was taken aback.
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2026
Wijgaarts, 40, was taken aback, thinking they were just in Paris for a weekend getaway.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
Even those closest to Woltemade were taken aback by the devastating manner in which he dispatched a penalty against Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 victory back in October.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
When Anatole translated that one, Father looked taken aback.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
