nonplussed
UK /nɒnˈplʌst/ · US /ˌnɑnˈplʌst/ adjective
Also a form of nonplus
Forms non-plussed
- adjective Unsure how to act or respond; bewildered, perplexed.
- adjective (chiefly US, informal, nonstandard) Unaffected, unfazed; unimpressed.
Synonyms
confounded vexed lost for words addle-pated addled addlepated at a loss at a loss for words at sea at sixes and sevens baffled befuddled bewildered confused confuzzled dazed dazzled discombobulated disconcerted dumbfounded nonplused puzzled
Antonyms
Etymology
From nonplus (“state of bewilderment or perplexity”, noun) or nonplus (“to bewilder or perplex (someone)”, verb) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives, and the past tense and past participle forms of verbs). Nonplus (noun) is derived from Latin nōn plūs (“no further, no more”), from nōn (“not”) + plūs (“additionally, more; further”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The etymological sense is similar to being left speechless as a result of confusion: the nonplussed person can say or do “no more”.
Adjective sense 2 (“unaffected”) is probably from a misinterpretation of the first element of the word as the prefix non- meaning “not”.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “nonplussed”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details