- aback (taken)
- (Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)
adv.
startled, taken unawares, surprised, confused, *thrown off guard.
English dictionary for students. 2013.
aback (taken)
Look at other dictionaries:
taken aback — Taken by surprise • • • Main Entry: ↑aback … Useful english dictionary
taken unawares — Synonyms and related words: ad lib, astonished, caught napping, caught off balance, caught short, extemporaneous, extemporized, haphazard, hasty, impromptu, improvised, makeshift, precipitate, rough and ready, snap, struck with surprise,… … Moby Thesaurus
taken aback — also[taken back] {adj.} Unpleasantly surprised; suddenly puzzled or shocked. * /When he came to pay for his dinner he was taken aback to find that he had left his wallet at home./ … Dictionary of American idioms
taken aback — also[taken back] {adj.} Unpleasantly surprised; suddenly puzzled or shocked. * /When he came to pay for his dinner he was taken aback to find that he had left his wallet at home./ … Dictionary of American idioms
Aback — A*back ([.a]*b[a^]k ), adv. [Pref. a + back; AS. on b[ae]c at, on, or toward the back. See {Back}.] 1. Toward the back or rear; backward. Therewith aback she started. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. Behind; in the rear. Knolles. [1913 Webster] 3.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
aback — (adv.) c.1200, from O.E. on bæc at or on the back; see BACK (Cf. back) (n.). Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression in reference to a sudden change of wind that flattens the square sails back against the masts and… … Etymology dictionary
aback — [ə bak′] adv. [OE on bæc, at or on the back] 1. Archaic backward; back 2. Naut. backward against the mast, as the sails of a square rigged vessel in a wind from straight ahead taken aback 1. Naut. in an unmanageable condition, as because of a… … English World dictionary
aback — [adv] taken unawares confused, surprised, thrown off, thrown off guard*; concept 403 … New thesaurus
aback — adv. taken aback (I was taken aback) ( I was startled ) * * * [ə bæk] taken aback ( I was startled ; I was taken aback) … Combinatory dictionary
aback — [[t]əbæ̱k[/t]] PHRASE: usu v link PHR, oft PHR by n If you are taken aback by something, you are surprised or shocked by it and you cannot respond at once. Roland was taken aback by our strength of feeling... Derek was taken aback when a man… … English dictionary
