To take someone aback or to be taken aback is an old idiomatic expression that has existed in English since the mid-1900’s. Like many common expressions, it was taken from old nautical terminology dating from the 1800’s.
When someone is taken aback, they are very shocked, surprised, or, to use another expression taken off guard. Used in a sentence such as “He was taken aback at his employee’s behavior,” this idiom takes on the meaning of a single word, with synonyms such as astonished, disconcerted, amazed, dumbstruck, startled, etc.
Is “Take Aback” a Phrasal Verb?
You will often see take aback included on textbook lists of “take” phrasal verbs alongside phrases like take off, take in, or take over. However, treating it as a standard phrasal verb misrepresents how the phrase actually functions in English.
Standard phrasal verbs move seamlessly between active and passive forms:
- Active: “She took off her coat.” Passive: “Her coat was taken off.”
- Active: “They took in the stray cat.” Passive: “The stray cat was taken in.”
With taken aback, however, the expression is almost strictly locked into passive or stative constructions (be taken aback, seem taken aback, look taken aback). In modern usage, aback functions less like a directional adverb and more like a predicate adjective meaning astonished or dumbstruck.
The Awkward Active Voice
While you may occasionally hear someone force the phrase into the active voice (e.g., “His rude comment really took me aback”), this is a secondary back-formation. Trying to use it dynamically in other active tenses, such as “I am taking him aback” or “Don’t take me aback”, sounds ungrammatical and completely unnatural to native speakers.
Because the original nautical idiom described a sudden state imposed upon a ship’s sails by an unexpected shift in wind, the figurative phrase inherited that exact passive structure. The shock is something a person experiences as a state of mind, not an active task someone performs.
“Taken Aback” vs. “Taken a Back” or “Taken Back”
Because the word aback is relatively rare in modern English outside of this phrase, it is frequently misspelled or misunderstood in two common ways:
- “Taken a back” (Two words): This is a common spelling mistake based on how the phrase sounds when spoken. Aback is a single word, a historical adverb meaning toward the back or backward. Writing it as two words (“a back”) is incorrect.
- “Taken back”: Confusing taken aback with taken back shifts the meaning entirely. While taken aback means returning an item to a store, withdrawing a statement, or being reminded of a past memory (e.g., “Listening to that song, I was taken back to high school.”). It does not mean to be shocked or surprised.
Other Common Mistakes and Variations
Because taken aback is a fixed historical idiom, several other common misreadings, malaphors, and misspellings frequently appear in everyday speech and online searches:
- “Thrown Aback”: This is a common malaphor, an accidental blend created by mixing taken aback with thrown off guard or thrown off balance. While people will understand what you mean, “thrown aback” is not a standard English idiom.
- “Caught Aback”: Unlike “thrown aback,” caught aback is actually an authentic, historical variant from the same nautical era. While it was used interchangeably with taken aback in 19th-century sailing, modern English has almost exclusively standardized on taken aback.
Origin of ‘Taken Aback’
If you were to try to guess the origin of ‘to be taken aback,’ you might think it referred to someone being backed up in their tracks by some unexpected obstacle. This guess would not be far off the mark, but as above, the origin of ‘taken aback’ is nautical and much more specific.
In sailing, the term aback refers to a situation in which the wind acts on the forward surface of the sail. Hence, the sails can be laid back or thrown aback by hauling in the weather-braces or putting the helm down, and the sails can be caught aback or taken aback by a sudden reversal of wind direction, or by an error in steering. When this happens the sail is pushed against the mast and yards, halting its forward progress. Depending on the circumstances and angle of the wind, this can break yard-arms or even cause vessels to turn over, so to be suddenly taken aback can be quite a shock, just as the figurative use of the expression is meant.
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Sentence Examples
When Brenda found out about the court’s decision, she was utterly taken aback. She had been certain the court would rule differently.
Mr. Fisher was taken aback by the rude behavior of the prospective employee.