aback (redirected from takes aback)

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.

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aback [əˈbæk]

adv

taken aback

a.  startled or disconcerted

b.  (Transport / Nautical Terms) Nautical (of a vessel or sail) having the wind against the forward side so as to prevent forward motion

2. Rare towards the back; backwards

[Old English on bæc to the back]

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aback - Originated in sailing, as a ship was taken aback when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew the sails back against the mast, causing the ship to stop momentarily.

See also related terms for sailing.

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	aback - having the wind against the forward side of the sails; "the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback"
	2.	aback - by surprise; "taken aback by the caustic remarks"

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aback

adverb

take someone aback surprise, throw, shock, stun, confuse, astonish, stagger, startle, bewilder, astound, disconcert, bowl over (informal), stupefy, floor (informal), knock for six, dumbfound, leave open-mouthed, nonplus, flabbergast (informal) He was taken aback when a man answered the phone.

Translations

aback [əˈbæk] ADV to take aback → desconcertar, sorprender
to be taken aback → quedarse desconcertado, sorprenderse
I was quite taken aback by the news → la noticia me causó gran sorpresa, la noticia me dejó desconcertado

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aback [əˈbæk] adv
to be taken aback → être décontenancé(e)
to be taken aback by sth
I was taken aback by his reaction → Sa réaction m'a décontenancé.

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aback

adv to be taken aback → erstaunt sein; (= upset) → betroffen sein

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aback [əˈbæk] adv to be taken aback → essere colto/a or preso/a alla sprovvista, rimanere sconcertato/a

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aback [əˈbӕk]

surprised and usually rather upset She was taken aback by his rudeness. uit die veld geslaan اجأ изненадан překvapený, zaražený overrumplet; forbløffet bestürzt ξαφνιασμένος desconcertado jahmunud جا خوردن yllättyä déconcerté לִהיוִת מוּפתָּע पीछे/हतप्रभ natrag, straga; zapanjen, iznenađen elképedt terkejut agndofa sorpreso あっけにとられる 깜짝 놀란 priblokštas pārsteigts terperanjat verbluft overrumplet og fornærmet zaskoczony chocado surprins, uluit ошеломлённый zarazený, prekvapený, zmätený osupel iznenađen bakåt, back: baxna, häpna งงงวย şaşırmış (因不悅)大吃一驚 вражений ششدر رہ جانا sửng sốt 吃惊，吓一跳