# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Cestrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Cestrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cestrian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/21 "2011-06-10T14:54:08Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > It’s the opposite of plussed. Surely it wouldn’t be the opposite of “plussed” just the absence of plussed. ---
**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, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/22 "2011-06-10T15:12:33Z")
Ok, so it wasn’t just me. I suppose my definition #2 isn’t totally accurate it’s more confusion/surprise than it is straight confusion, but I didn’t want to put up something that was a straight definition in the OP so I just picked a listed synonym. And the opposite of plussed is antiplussed, not nonplussed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/23 "2011-06-10T16:53:15Z")
It means you are unable to add. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/24 "2011-06-10T16:56:15Z")
2 - Confused (I think it’s more like when you go to a party and when the hostess opens the door, you find out it’s a nude party - surprise!). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/25 "2011-06-10T16:59:01Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > 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. I find it hilarious that you call the people who are in favor of linguistic freedom “stormtroopers.” Surely those are the ones who wish to impose their view on others? That said, nonplussed has never meant unconcerned for me, and I’m, well, nonplussed that others think it does. The best I can figure is that some folks conflated it with nonchalant or a similar word at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/26 "2011-06-10T17:00:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Usage > In standard use nonplussed means‘ surprised and confused’, as in she was nonplussed at his eagerness to help out. In North American English a new use has developed in recent years, meaning ‘unperturbed’ — more or less the opposite of its traditional meaning — as in he was clearly trying to appear nonplussed. This new use probably arose on the assumption that non- was the normal negative prefix and must therefore have a negative meaning. It is not considered part of standard English I don’t like it when the lowest common denominator sets policy. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/27 "2011-06-10T17:11:08Z")
Its the sensation you feel when you are called out for misusing a word you obviously don’t know the meaning of. Happens to me fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/28 "2011-06-10T17:15:40Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Its the sensation you feel when you are called out for misusing a word you obviously don’t know the meaning of. > > Happens to me fairly often. Just tell them it’s a new meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/29 "2011-06-10T17:29:55Z")
Surprised or confused. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/30 "2011-06-10T17:32:40Z")
I’ve always understood it to mean puzzled, confused or surprised. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/31 "2011-06-10T17:35:24Z")
Surprised and probably rendered momentarily speechless by this. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/32 "2011-06-10T17:41:08Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > I’ve thought it meant “unimpressed.” I am nonplussed to find out how many people in this thread think it means this. Where did you get this idea from? Was it confusion with “nonchalant”? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/33 "2011-06-10T18:00:33Z")
You ever see someone so baffled, confused, and enraged that their mouth tries to form words, but all that comes out is a stream of grunts? “I…y…bu…wh…a…u…”? They’re nonplussed. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/34 "2011-06-10T18:13:20Z")
I’d say “taken aback.” And if you want to do a poll, you’ll have to do in in IMHO – they’re not enabled in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/35 "2011-06-10T18:22:56Z")
Utterly confused, perplexed, dumbfounded – that sort of thing. The one that really annoys me, even though I tend to be tolerant and descriptivist about these things, is the misuse of the word “penultimate.” Also, “disinterested,” but I can give that one a pass. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/36 "2011-06-10T18:34:12Z")
i used to think it meant unimpressed. I did eventually learn it meant to be caught off-guard or momentarily unable to come up with a response to something. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/37 "2011-06-10T18:35:42Z")
I always thought of it as the opposite of “plussed” meaning pleased. So, unpleased, but in a casual way. ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/38 "2011-06-10T18:43:30Z")
I always related it mentally to “non sequitur” - non sequitur is the thing, nonplussed is how you feel when it happens. They both mean (to me, literally/derivationally/the folk etymology in my head) something like “nothing follows” or blankness. A blase reaction to something someone expected to be impressive, can vaguely resemble nonplus (which may be the source of the slide into “unfazed” meaning) but generally it’s a reaction to something unexpected. Not really the same as confusion but I can see how that would be related, too. Many people in this thread have given the exact meaning I think of - “caught off guard” or “taken aback” are especially apt, as is “rendered momentarily speechless.” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/39 "2011-06-10T18:49:08Z")
Confused or caught off guard and momentarily stunned. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/40 "2011-06-10T19:05:10Z")
I always thought it meant “unimpressed”, or “unconcerned”, or whatever. As for how I got that impression, it seems to me that it was the same way anyone ever gets any impression of what any word means: That seemed to be what other folks meant when they used it. Given the large number of people who think it’s each meaning, it seems to me like it might be best to avoid the word entirely, since no matter how you use it, it looks like a lot of folks are going to get the wrong impression. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977.md?page=3)