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