How to Use aback in a Sentence

aback

adverb

• Fans seemed taken aback that your team wasn’t able to make more of it.
  — Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 June 2022
• Howard went on to say he was taken aback when Gard grabbed his arm.
  — NBC News, 21 Feb. 2022
• Sometimes when my voice comes on the phone, they're taken aback.
  — Monroe Trombly, Cincinnati.com, 22 Dec. 2017
• Schuler, who had only packed enough gear for a few days, was taken aback.
  — Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2022
• Gavin’s side are taken aback by how close-knit and frank the Welsh are.
  — The Economist, 26 Dec. 2019
• Rodgers took some players aback by his just-one-of-the-guys approach.
  — Mike Jones, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
• But even he was taken aback by how quickly the response came.
  — Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press, 27 Oct. 2020
• Schwartz was taken aback by the number of people who turned out.
  — oregonlive, 3 Oct. 2021
• Some parents said they were taken aback by the closure of schools.
  — Zoe Christen Jones, CBS News, 19 Nov. 2020
• McGee, though, was taken aback by Miller’s view of her speech.
  — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2022
• When told that he has been described as a con man, Smith seemed taken aback.
  — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, 20 Sep. 2020
• Didn’t see any malice at the time, and was more taken aback than anything else.
  — NBC news, 30 Apr. 2021
• Sarah laughed, and the whole room was taken aback, researchers recalled.
  — Isabella Cueto, STAT, 6 Oct. 2021
• In scrambling to find a rental car, she was taken aback by the prices and lack of options.
  — Nora Naughton, WSJ, 24 Dec. 2021
• Like many people who met her for the first time, Beam was taken aback by her deep voice.
  — John Carreyrou, WIRED, 21 May 2018
• But somehow he wasn’t taken aback by the quality of it at all.
  — Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jan. 2023
• Smith was initially taken aback by the idea, but also open to it.
  — oregonlive, 29 Oct. 2020
• The victims were taken aback and frightened by how big and fat the monkeys were.
  — Yuri Kageyama, USA TODAY, 27 July 2022
• Insiders were taken aback by the blunt way that the shake-up was handled.
  — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2022
• Williams-Jeter was a bit taken aback by her friends’ nonchalant tone.
  — Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 12 May 2022
• This isn't the first time an encounter with a red priestess has taken Varys aback.
  — Megan McCluskey, Time, 31 July 2017
• What Santos said next took me aback, even by his outlandish and brazen standards.
  — Bobby Allyn, NPR, 4 June 2026
• Monkman’s work leaves the viewer in awe of its grand scale, and taken aback by its extreme content.
  — Nick Martin, The New Republic, 21 May 2020
• The members were lonely, taken aback by the sudden change to their usual rhythm.
  — Billboard, 26 Aug. 2021
• And when Ian says that Jamie wants a surprise made for his wife, Murtagh is taken aback.
  — Outlander Fan, Marie Claire, 3 Dec. 2018
• But during this visit I was taken aback by the piles upon piles of mail and papers and junk.
  — Trey Williams, Fortune, 27 Dec. 2022
• Indeed, when the double doors to the reception area glide open, I am taken aback.
  — Jonathan Van Meter, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2021
• That said, the World of Dance judge was still taken aback by the news about Tom and Erin.
  — Selena Barrientos, Good Housekeeping, 2 Aug. 2020
• And Wall Street leaders have been taken aback by the harsh rhetoric of the current moment.
  — Matt Egan, CNN, 5 Jan. 2021
• But perhaps none were more taken aback than Noel Monk, the band’s manager and friend.
  — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 June 2017