Word Confusion: Taken Aback versus Taken Back

Posted June 21, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
3 Jan 2023

Pinterest pin for Taken Aback versus Taken Back

But for an a . . .

Taken back is the popular usage of taken aback, and it is so wrong!

If you want to show your ignorance, use taken back to indicate surprise.

Taken aback is an idiom indicating that something startled you enough that you jumped back in surprise, shocked, or left someone disconcerted or abashed.

Taken back is a corruption of taken aback, but means to be returned, recovering something, or bringing back the past.

You may also want to explore “Bring versus Take“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Taken Aback versus Taken Back” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Return to top

(Be) Taken Aback	Taken Back
Jumping Man from OpenClipArt is in the public domain, via PublicDomainVectors.org. — Could be a snake took him aback.	HC Drug Take Back by Maryland GovPics is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
Part of Grammar:
Morpheme: take Verb, transitive Third person present verb: takes aback Past tense: took aback Past participle: taken aback Present participle: taking aback Also take one aback	Morpheme: take Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: takes back Past tense: took back Past participle: taken back Present participle: taking back
To astonish or disconcert	Verb, intransitive: [Printing] To move text to the previous line Cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense Verb, transitive: To be returned Take something back to the place where you bought it or where you borrowed it from Admit that something that you said or thought is wrong Allow someone to come home again, after they have gone away because of an argument or other problem Something reminds you of a period of your past life and makes you think about it again
Examples:
I was taken aback by his rudeness. He was taken aback by her caustic remark. Jonadab was taken aback, not being a man given to overt affection. She was taken aback to realize just how far her reservations about seeing him had disappeared. She was completely taken aback by his anger. It took us all aback a bit to learn that John was moving to England next month. I’m sure the news of the merger takes everyone aback, but please believe me that this is in the best interest of the company.	Verb, intransitive: This widow needs to be taken back. I’ve taken back what cancer took. The murder suspects were taken back to the crime scene. Verb, transitive: When I smelled the stables, I was taken back to my riding days. Or worse, he might be taken back alive. If I buy something and he doesn’t like it, I’ll take it back. The lawn mower was defective, so I took it back to the store. Take back what you said about Jeremy! Why did she take him back? She lent me some clothes and never took them back. I enjoyed experimenting with colors — it took me back to being five years old.
Derivatives:
	Adjective: takeback Noun: takeback
Phrasal Verb
	taken back
History of the Word:
This idiom comes from nautical terminology of the mid-1700s, when be taken aback referred to the stalling of a ship caused by a wind shift that made the sails lay back against the masts. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1829.	Unknown.

Return to top

C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

Return to top