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
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
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
She had already done a series of calculations, and if her parents had agreed to contribute at all she would have been taken aback.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
