aback
By surprise; startled; dumbfoundedBy surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
Recorded US: Dabblequeen, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
» I was quite taken aback by their bad manners.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
4 senses(not comparable)By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
by surprise
(not comparable)Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side, or of a ship when its sails are set that way.
про́тив ве́траprótiv vétra
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
(Geordie, archaic, not comparable)Towards the back or rear; backwards.
rückwärts
наза́дnazád
наза́дnazád
(archaic, not comparable)In the rear; a distance behind.
hinten
сза́диszádi, позади́pozadí
поза́дуpozádu, зза́дуzzádu
Examples
51 sentencesI was quite taken aback by their bad manners.
I was a little taken aback.
Tom was taken aback.
ruТом был ошеломлен. — sharptoothed
I was taken aback.
ruЯ опешил. — marafon
You seemed taken aback.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 3
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, equivalent to a- (“towards”) + back. ComFrom Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, equivalent to a- (“towards”) + back. Compare West Frisian tebek (“aback”, adverb, literally “to/at back”), Swedish tillbaka (idem.).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.