aback
/əˈbæk/ adverb C1- By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
- Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side, or of a ship when its sails are set that way.
From the library
Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by the cabman’s reply.
People are often taken aback when I tell them, but cities can actually be good for bees.
Learn aback in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.