aback

adverb

/əˈbæk/

Word OriginOld English on bæc, from a- ‘to, towards’ and back. The term came to be treated as a single word in nautical use.

Idioms

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Idioms

be taken aback (by somebody/something)

to be shocked or surprised by somebody/something
- She was completely taken aback by his anger.
Topics Feelingsc2

Synonyms surprisesurprise

startle
amaze
stun
astonish
take somebody aback
astound

These words all mean to make somebody feel surprised.

surprise
to give somebody the feeling that you get when something happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or something that you do expect does not happen; to make somebody feel surprised:
- The outcome didn’t surprise me at all.
startle
to surprise somebody suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them:
- Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.
- The explosion startled the horse.
amaze
to surprise somebody very much:
- Just the huge size of the place amazed her.
stun (rather informal) (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speak
astonish
to surprise somebody very much:
- The news astonished everyone.

amaze or astonish?These two words have the same meaning and in most cases you can use either. If you are talking about something that both surprises you and makes you feel ashamed, use astonish: He was astonished by his own stupidity.

take somebody aback
[usually passive] (especially of something negative) to surprise or shock somebody:
- We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction.
astound
to surprise or shock somebody very much:
- His arrogance astounded her.

Patterns

It surprises somebody/startles somebody/amazes somebody/stuns somebody/astonishes somebody/takes somebody aback/astounds somebody
to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody that…
to surprise/amaze somebody what/how…
to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody to know/find/learn/see/hear…
to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) something

单词	aback
释义	aback adverb /əˈbæk/ /əˈbæk/ Word OriginOld English on bæc, from a- ‘to, towards’ and back. The term came to be treated as a single word in nautical use. Idioms jump to other results Idioms be taken aback (by somebody/something) to be shocked or surprised by somebody/something She was completely taken aback by his anger. Topics Feelingsc2 Synonyms surprisesurprise startle amaze stun astonish take somebody aback astound These words all mean to make somebody feel surprised. surprise to give somebody the feeling that you get when something happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or something that you do expect does not happen; to make somebody feel surprised: The outcome didn’t surprise me at all. startle to surprise somebody suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them: Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. The explosion startled the horse. amaze to surprise somebody very much: Just the huge size of the place amazed her. stun (rather informal) (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speak astonish to surprise somebody very much: The news astonished everyone. amaze or astonish?These two words have the same meaning and in most cases you can use either. If you are talking about something that both surprises you and makes you feel ashamed, use astonish: He was astonished by his own stupidity. take somebody aback [usually passive] (especially of something negative) to surprise or shock somebody: We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction. astound to surprise or shock somebody very much: His arrogance astounded her. Patterns It surprises somebody/startles somebody/amazes somebody/stuns somebody/astonishes somebody/takes somebody aback/astounds somebody to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody that… to surprise/amaze somebody what/how… to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody to know/find/learn/see/hear… to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) something see also take somebody aback
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