# Do you know what the word nonplussed means? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977 "2011-06-10T14:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/1 "2011-06-10T14:16:08Z")
Poll coming. Edit: maybe not I can’t remember how to attach a poll.:smack: I am asking because I thought the word had a totally different definition from it’s actual one until my mid 20s when I was corrected in a rather embarrassing way in a professional context. Yet I feel like this is one of those cases where society let me down because I frequently see my incorrect understanding of the meaning of the word being used. So, I am wondering how common this is. Be honest, no one will judge you here…much. 😉 So does nonplussed mean 1)to be unconcerned 2) to be confused. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/2 "2011-06-10T14:22:07Z")
I’ve thought it meant “unimpressed.” ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/3 "2011-06-10T14:22:25Z")
I would say it had a similar meaning to flabbergasted - kind of like shocked. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/4 "2011-06-10T14:23:58Z")
I’d for for 1 - unconcerned. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/5 "2011-06-10T14:24:36Z")
For a long time I thought it meant unimpressed but then I learned it meant bewildered or surprised. Maybe I was confusing it with nonchalant? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/6 "2011-06-10T14:24:53Z")
“MY” definition of the word was always “unconcerned” ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/7 "2011-06-10T14:26:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > For a long time I thought it meant unimpressed but then I learned it meant bewildered or surprised. Maybe I was confusing it with nonchalant? When you found out, would you say you were nonplussed? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/8 "2011-06-10T14:26:30Z")
#2 confused. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/9 "2011-06-10T14:26:44Z")
I thought it meant underwhelmed or unaffected. I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/10 "2011-06-10T14:28:36Z")
Clearly, it means subtracted. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/11 "2011-06-10T14:29:46Z")
I am nonplussed that apparently I’ve been mistaken for all the years. Well maybe not entirely wrong: From Wikitionary: Usage notes In recent North American English nonplussed has come to mean “unimpressed”.[1] In 1999, this was considered a neologism, ostensibly from “not plussed”, although “plussed” by itself is not a recognized English word. The “unimpressed” meaning is not considered standard usage by at least one authoritative source.[2] ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/12 "2011-06-10T14:29:49Z")
Plussed = Addition Nonplussed = Subtraction I have always heard it as similar to “disconcerted”, with a surprise element. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/13 "2011-06-10T14:32:03Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > I would say it had a similar meaning to flabbergasted - kind of like shocked. Yes, this, but milder than “flabbergasted” or “shocked”. More like “momentarily\* flabbergasted”. \*But “momentarily” is another word many people misunderstand. I am using it in what I think is the better established use, “for a moment”, rather than “in a moment.” I predict,however, that the descriptivist stormtroopers will soon be in this thread to tell us all that it means whatever people want it to mean. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/14 "2011-06-10T14:34:17Z")
I thought it meant confused ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/15 "2011-06-10T14:38:42Z")
I thought that it meant something like unconcerned or unfazed. I’ve only ever seen it in writing though. I’ve never heard it spoken nor have I ever used it in any form. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/16 "2011-06-10T14:40:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Maybe I was confusing it with nonchalant? I think that’s what gets people: both words are of Latin origin, and “by analogy,” people perhaps perceive them as indicating the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/17 "2011-06-10T14:42:14Z")
It’s the opposite of plussed. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/18 "2011-06-10T14:43:30Z")
I know what it means, but I always have to remind myself. The incorrect usage just\* feels\* right. I think I might be imagining a chicken that has yet to be plucked and is, therefore, undisturbed. I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/19 "2011-06-10T14:49:00Z")
Being caught flat footed, in a mental context. At least that’s how I always thought of it. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/20 "2011-06-10T14:53:58Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I thought that it meant something like unconcerned or unfazed. I’ve only ever seen it in writing though. I’ve never heard it spoken nor have I ever used it in any form. This is how I used it just this morning in another thread. If I used it wrong, I’m unconcerned. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977.md?page=2)