aback

“I made a lot of assumptions about him, and I was taken aback by how forward-thinking and progressive he was,” he adds.

Ms Gosling, a paramedic, was "taken aback" when asked about limb donation as she had not heard of it before, but she agreed without hesitation.

We were all taken aback but I didn't understand that I was apparently the culprit.

Some lawyers admit to being taken aback by some of the tactics.

I was taken aback, naturally, but when I had my wits about me again, I thought, oh wow, this film has some traction, some real staying power.”