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aback

   Also found in: Idioms 0.03 sec.
a·back  (-bk)
adv.
1. By surprise: He was taken aback by her caustic remarks.
2. Nautical In such a way that the wind pushes against the forward side of a sail or sails.
3. Archaic Back; backward.
aback
Adverb
taken aback startled or disconcerted
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adv.1.abackaback - having the wind against the forward side of the sails; "the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback"
2.abackaback - by surprise; "taken aback by the caustic remarks"
aback
adverb taken aback surprised, thrown, shocked, stunned, confused, astonished, staggered, startled, bewildered, astounded, disconcerted, bowled over (informal) stupefied, floored (informal) knocked for six, dumbfounded, left open-mouthed, nonplussed, flabbergasted (informal)
Translations
Spanish aback [əˈbæk] adv to be taken aback → quedar(se) desconcertado
French aback [əˈbæk] adv to be taken aback → être décontenancé(e)
German aback [əˈbæk] adv to be taken aback → verblüfft sein
Italian aback [əˈbæk] adv to be taken aback → essere sbalordito/a
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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
And yet the fact remains that, had the wind failed and the fleet lost steerage way, or, worse still, had it been taken aback from the eastward, with its leaders within short range of the enemy's guns, nothing, it seems, could have saved the headmost ships from capture or destruction.
The Mirror of the Sea by Conrad, Joseph View in context
Boris remembered Natasha in a short dress, with dark eyes shining from under her curls and boisterous, childish laughter, as he had known her four years before; and so he was taken aback when quite a different Natasha entered, and his face expressed rapturous astonishment.
War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
Maybe he did kick me, and I didn't observe it, I was so taken all aback with his brow, somehow.
Moby Dick I-LXVII by Melville, Herman View in context
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