take aback

From take + aback, see the two entries for their respective etymology.

• "I was rather taken aback by his angry reply."
• "The bad news took us aback."
• "I was, at first, a little taken aback and astounded at the bulk of the volume; but, I turned out early this morning, and with eager hope and expectation set doggedly to work in search of the promised consolation."
• "I would rather board a hundred of the enemy's frigates, than steer my boat into a fleet of modest women, for a modest woman never fails to take me aback."
• "Frank was taken aback when Lisa told him that she also needed forgiveness from him, for actions, for words, and for unspoken thoughts."
• "In a way, he was taken aback by the absence of discouragement."
• "She was not taken aback to find he lived in a ramshackle log hut among the trees."
• "She was a little taken aback to find the front door of heavy oak unlocked."
• "Zervas was rather taken aback to learn that Ares Veloutiotes, the communist leader, was on his way to the village because there was no friendship between them."
• "The physiologist is taken aback."
• "They haven't seen humans for years, so when a small expedition, led by Jason Clarke, stumbles into apetopia, both sides are taken aback."
• "Most commentators have been taken aback (but reassured) at how opposition has, if anything, grown rather than faded over time."