take aback
Jolt with surprise
To take aback is to surprise or disconcert someone, usually unpleasantly: I was taken aback by her rudeness.
The phrase appears almost exclusively in the passive.
The expression comes from sailing, where a ship is taken aback when wind hits the sails from the wrong side, stopping forward motion—a fitting image for being caught off guard.
Not yet resolved
- discomposedDisturbed from tranquility
- flusteredNervously upset and confused
- rattledDisturbed and unsettled
- thrown offDisrupted or dislodged
nonplussed · perturbed · ruffled · unnerved · disquieted · discombobulated · off-balance · wrong-footed
Greatly shocked, overwhelmed
- startledAbruptly surprised or alarmed
- stunnedShocked into speechlessness
- amazedOverwhelmed by sudden wonder
- astoundedOverwhelmed by surprise
flabbergasted · dumbfounded · gobsmacked · thunderstruck · stupefied · agog · awestruck · blindsided
unsettled
Not yet resolved
- discomposedDisturbed from tranquility
- flusteredNervously upset and confused
- rattledDisturbed and unsettled
thrown off · nonplussed · perturbed · ruffled · unnerved · disquieted · discombobulated · off-balance · wrong-footed · disoriented
astonished
Greatly shocked, overwhelmed
- startledAbruptly surprised or alarmed
- stunnedShocked into speechlessness
- amazedOverwhelmed by sudden wonder
astounded · flabbergasted · dumbfounded · gobsmacked · thunderstruck · stupefied · agog · awestruck · blindsided · caught off guard
appalled
Shocked by wrongness
dismayed · shell-shocked · reeling · scandalized · outraged · affronted · offended · revolted · stricken · distressed
take abackexpect
Consider likely to occur
anticipate · see coming · forewarn · come as no surprise · prepare
back, take, taken, taking, overtake, takes, undertake, taken aback, aback