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.
His mask had slid off, and Amundson was taken aback by how young he was.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"He thought of a hospital as one that could treat both people and animals," Kelemework explains, adding that he was taken aback by the response to his nephew's kindness.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
During his run, he said, he was taken aback by sights such as a North Korean raising a poodle’s paw to wave at runners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Perkins said she had been taken aback by how expensive treatment can be and said she sympathised with those without insurance.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
He was taken aback, which was a thing I had heard people say that had never made sense until this moment.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
