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.
But Rodriguez, who has endorsed Bass for mayor and is a frequent critic of Raman, said she was taken aback by Raman’s attitude at their dinner.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Smart said she was a little taken aback when she first learned how things would pan out for aging comic Deborah Vance and her mentee Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
Logan says he was taken aback by the offer and promptly alerted his former employers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 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
What I do know is that I was simultaneously taken aback and completely enthralled by the clunky, controlled chaos of the place.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
