# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/41 "2011-06-10T20:12:20Z")
The word equivalent of 😕, eg, “I was nonplussed to see a miniature elephant sleeping on the couch, until my brother told me he was just taking care of it for the neighbors.” ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/42 "2011-06-10T20:48:24Z")
It means surprised and confused at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/43 "2011-06-10T21:12:46Z")
I think of it as “taken aback” – surprised and confused. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/44 "2011-06-10T21:22:49Z")
It means confused. My eighth-grade English teacher included it among words she wanted us to learn, and giving her great hotness we all did as we were asked. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/45 "2011-06-10T21:36:18Z")
Either “unfazed” or “confused,” depending on usage. I had to look it up once when I saw it being used in a context that made no sense in the usage I first learned. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/46 "2011-06-10T21:36:50Z")
I have always understood it as “confused”, with sort of a connotation of “overwhelmed”. That is, a particular state in which you are confused and unable to respond because your brain is struggling to process information it’s just received. The roots (“Non” + “plus” = “no” + “more”) lead me to think of it that way–you’ve hit your limit and are (momentarily) unable to deal with any more. Your buffer has overrun. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/47 "2011-06-10T21:44:58Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Either “unfazed” or “confused,” depending on usage. I had to look it up once when I saw it being used in a context that made no sense in the usage I first learned. Those two words seem almost, but not quite, opposites to me. Unfazed means unaffected to me, or “taken in stride”. Confused – doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/48 "2011-06-10T21:48:14Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Plussed = Addition > Nonplussed = Subtraction > > I have always heard it as similar to “disconcerted”, with a surprise element. It doesn’t mean subtraction, it means lack of addition! ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/49 "2011-06-10T21:48:53Z")
mild cognitive dissonance ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/50 "2011-06-10T21:55:55Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Those two words seem almost, but not quite, opposites to me. Unfazed means unaffected to me, or “taken in stride”. Confused – doesn’t. Yeah, that was exactly why I was confused. I can see why people would complain about a word taking on the exact opposite meaning or close to it, but I suppose you could make the same argument about the modern uses of “incredible” or “unbelievable.” Strictly speaking, “The Incredible Hulk” should be a pathological liar. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/51 "2011-06-10T22:17:07Z")
It means speechless with surprise, shock or confusion. You can think of “nothing more” to say at the moment. Now for bonus points, what does _bemused_ mean? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/52 "2011-06-10T22:19:23Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > It means speechless with surprise, shock or confusion. You can think of “nothing more” to say at the moment. > > Now for bonus points, what does _bemused_ mean? Bewildered. Some people think it means “amused,” and when the revolution comes they will be the second to be put against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/53 "2011-06-10T22:31:54Z")
Set upon by muses? ---
**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, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/54 "2011-06-10T22:51:41Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Bewildered. Some people think it means “amused,” and when the revolution comes they will be the second to be put against the wall. Now that one I have conflated. I don’t treat it as a synonym of amused, but I use it to mean amused bewilderment. Sort of a confusion that isn’t alarming or disconcerting. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/55 "2011-06-10T22:58:35Z")
When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought “It means either surprised or not surprised.” I knew that one meaning was the dictionary definition, and the other was the way it’s typically used, but I couldn’t remember which was which. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/56 "2011-06-10T23:00:00Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Bewildered. Some people think it means “amused,” and when the revolution comes they will be the second to be put against the wall. I prefer the “lost in thought” secondary definition, but I’m with you on the people who think it means “amused”. I would give **Bosstone** a pass, though, since he only attributed connotations of amusement to it, which I could see. A state of “I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s kind of funny” could plausibly be described as “bemused” without trampling on the definition. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/57 "2011-06-10T23:19:01Z")
I always took it to mean unfazed or not bothered. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/58 "2011-06-11T00:11:26Z")
Huh. I always thought it meant unhappy. The common meaning was barely unhappy, while the real meaning was to be so unhappy as to be speechless. It just sounds like a word that came from _1984_. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/59 "2011-06-11T05:05:31Z")
At first I was nonplussed to find out I was using the word wrong, but now I am simply bemused. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977/60 "2011-06-11T05:20:37Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I would give **Bosstone** a pass, though, since he only attributed connotations of amusement to it, which I could see. A state of “I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s kind of funny” could plausibly be described as “bemused” without trampling on the definition. Works for me. I generally don’t believe in 1:1 synonyms. Every word, no matter how closely related it is to another, has a different connotation. Bewildered = confused in general Puzzled = confused about a specific thing, likely temporarily Baffled = confused about a specific thing, likely permanently without outside help Bemused = confused but amused And so on. If bemused only meant confused, I’d just use confused. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-the-word-nonplussed-means/584977.md?page=4)