Meaning
Startled or disconcerted by something unexpected, often to the point of being momentarily lost for words. Almost always appears in the passive ('I was taken aback by...'); the active form is not used figuratively. Neutral register with a slightly literary or formal flavour; typically softened with 'somewhat' or 'rather'. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The expression is nautical. 'Aback' dates to around 1200 as a contraction of Old English 'on bae c' (backward); Etymonline records its specialised nautical use from 1754, describing a square-rigged ship whose sails were suddenly flattened against the masts by a wind shift, stopping the vessel dead. The figurative sense of being 'suddenly or unexpectedly checked or disappointed' appeared by 1792. The metaphor is a natural one: a person who is taken aback is stopped as abruptly as a ship caught by a contrary gust. Today the word 'aback' survives in English almost entirely inside this one phrase.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- take someone aback
- taken aback by
- taken back (nonstandard)
Usage Examples
- She was taken aback by how bluntly the panel rejected her proposal.
- I was somewhat taken aback to find my name on the shortlist at all.
- His question about her salary left her taken aback, unsure whether to answer.