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.
"She was a bit taken aback and said, 'Darling, nuns can't wear pretty clothes'. So I said, 'Well, I'll be an actress then.'"
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
Tom Griffin, whose 15-year-old son was asked to leave, said he was "taken aback" when he saw the sign and that teenagers had been "unfairly targeted".
From BBC • May 15, 2026
“She was completely taken aback by it. She was like, ‘Wow, this is how it really is.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
When it debuted in March 2021, the health-focused Goop Kitchen had so many orders that even Paltrow was taken aback.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Whenever something big happens we’re quite taken aback, but no one else is the least bit surprised.
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.
