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take aback
verb
- tr, adverb to astonish or disconcert
Idioms and Phrases
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
Even Hogan seemed taken aback by the reaction.
Garza said in his claim that he was “taken aback” by the dismissive response he received from his superiors, who took no immediate action.
When I describe her — a mother of six, a director, screenwriter, philanthropist and Tony Award-winning producer — as a woman with seemingly boundless capacity, she seems momentarily taken aback.
But he was taken aback when he saw the details of his first appearance as the eccentric vicar Father Chris.
I think I was shocked or taken aback.
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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.
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