How to Use take aback in a Sentence

take aback

phrasal verb

• Even so, he was taken aback by an outline of Cyrus’s case.
  — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2024
• Reached for comment on the phone later, La Doña was taken aback.
  — Danny Acosta, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2023
• But talking to people that are my own age, even like 20, I was taken aback by it.
  — Vulture, 14 July 2023
• Many commenters were taken aback by the bathing schedule.
  — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 12 Feb. 2024
• And after the bomb was dropped, she was really taken aback by the scale of the destruction.
  — Erica Huang, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2023
• Scherzinger herself was taken aback when Lloyd asked to meet and suggested the part some 18 months ago.
  — Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
• Howe, taken aback and upset at the $40 charge, decides against paying it.
  — Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2023
• Those close to the family were taken aback by the announcement.
  — Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 19 Feb. 2024
• That’s why one day, when addressing the inside guys, Likens was taken aback when Rice raised his hand.
  — Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 2024
• The three-time gold medalist was seemingly taken aback by the rapper’s largesse.
  — Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
• The head of a tax watchdog group also said she was taken aback by what Steiner put forward.
  — Rob Davis, ProPublica, 2 Feb. 2024
• Of course, that's expected, but we're still taken aback at how aggressive the aero looks on the Honda.
  — Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 24 July 2023
• But even she has been taken aback by the flurry of labor reforms snaking through Congress.
  — Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2023
• Visibly taken aback, Vernikov cursed as the man walked off, laughing.
  — Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023
• Looking at these pictures today, I’m still taken aback by it all.
  — Paul McCartney, The Atlantic, 13 June 2023
• John Myers, one of the Democratic canvassers, said he was taken aback.
  — Madeleine May, CBS News, 20 May 2024
• People close to Gagosian have sometimes been taken aback by his cloak-and-dagger tradecraft.
  — Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
• As such, some royal lovers were a bit taken aback to see Camilla pull out the piece so soon after Elizabeth’s death.
  — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 20 Oct. 2023
• Saddened by the loss of life, Cameron was taken aback by the symmetry between what happened in 1912 and what unfolded a few days ago.
  — Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 23 June 2023
• The comments may not be surprising—even if the commenters themselves are taken aback by Carlson’s new stance.
  — Jane Thier, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
• The wide-eyed driver was taken aback by the track’s size — even though at that point, Martinsville’s half-mile bullring might as well have been a superspeedway.
  — Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 15 Feb. 2024
• He's been taken aback by some schools' reactions to lunch debts, like one that barred students from buying prom tickets.
  — Ronnie Li, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
• He was taken aback by the physical mannerisms that echoed between father and son.
  — Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
• Hosts are also not generally taken aback when learning a guest cannot attend, that being the very purpose of the RSVP to begin with.
  — Robin Abrahams, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023
• On one especially hot and muggy day, we were taken aback when — in a matter of minutes — the broiling sun gave way to rain and then a brief but intense hailstorm.
  — George Varga, Twin Cities, 21 May 2024
• Mitchum, taken aback by the toast, explains to his fellow cast members the reasoning behind his disdain of a Black excellence chant.
  — Taylor Crumpton, Essence, 16 May 2024
• But while polishing one of the specimens to a thin slice that could be examined under a microscope, he was taken aback.
  — Kate Golembiewski, New York Times, 4 Dec. 2023
• Charlotte’s even more taken aback when Jackie welcomes them into her twinkle-light covered manse and decked halls.
  — Courtney Howard, Variety, 16 Nov. 2023
• In 1977, when Oates read the letters of Emily Dickinson, she was taken aback by their intimacy.
  — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023
• That’s why many said they were taken aback when Business Insider engaged with a snark subreddit.
  — Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2023

Last Updated: 27 Jun 2024