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Synonyms

take aback

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to astonish or disconcert

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
take aback Idioms  

  1. Surprise, shock, as in He was taken aback by her caustic remark. This idiom comes from nautical terminology of the mid-1700s, when be taken aback referred to the stalling of a ship caused by a wind shift that made the sails lay back against the masts. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1829.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Jim Clark, her eldest son, said he was "totally taken aback" to hear about North Orchard Street.

From BBC

Ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said he was “very taken aback” by the rules being “not enforced and certainly just broken immediately.”

From Salon

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

“Oh?” said the musk ox, taken aback by Duane’s unusually forceful voice.

From Literature

But the St Andrews gym owner was taken aback when a message came in from the national paracycling team of Kenya.

From BBC

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.