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.
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
But the St Andrews gym owner was taken aback when a message came in from the national paracycling team of Kenya.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
Wijgaarts, 40, was taken aback, thinking they were just in Paris for a weekend getaway.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 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.
