blindsided
Hit without warning
Blindsided means struck or attacked from an unexpected direction—literally from the blind side, where you can't see.
A football player gets blindsided by a tackler he never saw coming.
More often figurative: The layoffs blindsided everyone.
To be blindsided is to be caught completely off guard, usually by bad news or an unwelcome development.
Shocked into speechlessness
- flooredOverwhelmed by surprise
- gobsmackedExtremely astonished
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
- staggeredShocked or unevenly spaced
jolted · reeling · dumbfounded · flabbergasted · stupefied · shell-shocked · dazed · bowled-over
Treacherously harmed by ally
- double-crossedBetrayed by supposed ally
- ambushedAttacked from concealment
- sabotagedDeliberately damaged or destroyed
- deceivedMisled into false belief
betrayed · duped · set-up · manipulated · undermined · outmaneuvered · conned · tricked
Not anticipating danger
- obliviousLacking any awareness
- unpreparedLacking readiness beforehand
- caught-off-guardSurprised without warning
- unwittingNot aware or conscious
clueless · unawares · naive · heedless · off-guard · napping · flat-footed · unwarned
stunned
Shocked into speechlessness
- flooredOverwhelmed by surprise
- gobsmackedExtremely astonished
- thunderstruckExtremely shocked or amazed
staggered · jolted · reeling · dumbfounded · flabbergasted · stupefied · shell-shocked · dazed · bowled-over · poleaxed
backstabbed
Treacherously harmed by ally
- double-crossedBetrayed by supposed ally
- ambushedAttacked from concealment
- sabotagedDeliberately damaged or destroyed
deceived · betrayed · duped · set-up · manipulated · undermined · outmaneuvered · conned · tricked · hoodwinked
unsuspecting
Not anticipating danger
- obliviousLacking any awareness
- unpreparedLacking readiness beforehand
- caught-off-guardSurprised without warning
unwitting · clueless · unawares · naive · heedless · off-guard · napping · flat-footed · unwarned · trusting
tackled
Engaged with forcefully
blocked · clipped · decked · leveled · flattened · collision · impact · penalty · concussion · cheap-shot
- Blind
- astonishmentamazement, awe, wonder, wonderstruck, awestruck
- confusionconfusion, confused, bewilderment, perplexity, baffled
- shock reactionsgasp, wide eyes, jaw drop, shocked face, open mouth
- unreadyunprepared, ill-prepared, ill-equipped, unready, not ready
- unpreparednessunpreparedness, unreadiness, unpracticed, untrained, inexperience
blindsidedforewarned
Notified of coming trouble
prepared · expecting · anticipating · ready · expected
blindsidedforewarned
Notified of coming trouble
warned · given notice · informed · alerted · notified
- blindside hitCollision from outside vision