Synonyms for aback

Grammar : Adv

Spell : uh-bak

Phonetic Transcription : əˈbæk

Définition of aback

Origin : c.1200, from Old English on bæc "at or on the back;" see back (n.). Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression in reference to a vessel's square sails when a sudden change of wind flattens them back against the masts and stops the forward motion of the ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840.

adv taken unawares

Example sentences :

This discovery knocked us all aback, and we were quite at a loss how to proceed.
Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper

Well, when you consider that, can you wonder I was set all aback?
Extract from : « Cap'n Warren's Wards » by Joseph C. Lincoln

It took her aback by its directness, and for a moment left her without an answer.
Extract from : « The Snare » by Rafael Sabatini

I certainly took him aback, and he almost dropped the glass.
Extract from : « Two Sides of the Face » by Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Sarah did not answer for a minute, for the question took her aback; then she laughed.
Extract from : « Sarah's School Friend » by May Baldwin

To bagpipe the mizen is to lay it aback, by bringing the sheet to the mizen-shrouds.
Extract from : « The Sailor's Word-Book » by William Henry Smyth

When he tried to come nearer her she laughed and thrust him aback.
Extract from : « Privy Seal » by Ford Madox Ford

The midshipman went to sleep, and when he awoke he found the ship all aback.
Extract from : « A Voyage round the World » by W.H.G. Kingston

“Throw it all aback,” he cut in as at last he caught my idea.
Extract from : « A Middy in Command » by Harry Collingwood

Loose and set the topsail and topgallant-sail, and throw them aback!
Extract from : « The Rover's Secret » by Harry Collingwood

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019