take aback

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verb

(tr, adverb) to astonish or disconcert

Words nearby take aback

take a spill, take a stand, take a turn for the better, take a walk, take a whack at, take aback, take account of, take advantage of, take after, take against, take aim

Words related to take aback

mystify, dumbfound, bewilder, faze, disconcert, astound, baffle, astonish, daze, fluster, overwhelm, flabbergast, shock, boggle, confound, amaze, startle, stupefy, stun, confuse

Idioms and Phrases with take aback

take aback

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.