nonplussed

nɒnˈplʌst

2 definitions

0—

#1·8h ago

Unsure how to act or respond; bewildered, perplexed.

"I regard Dean [W. P.] Baddeley's gambling activities with embarrassment and dismay," said Anglican dean of Melbourne S. Barton Babbage. The Rev. Baddeley remained nonplussed. "I don't intend to make a habit of going to the races but I f…

Origin: {| class="floatright" |- | | |} [[File:Non-plussed - JM Staniforth.png|thumb|An 1899 political cartoon entitled “Non-plussed” by Joseph Morewood Staniforth. It depicts the British Member of Parliament Joseph Chamberlain as a nonplussed () inventor fretting over an “old age pension machine”, alluding to the difficulties Chamberlain encountered in getting support for his old age pension programme.]] From nonplus or . Nonplus is derived from , from nōn + plūs (ultimately from ). The etymological sense is similar to being left speechless as a result of confusion: the nonplussed person can say o. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Was this helpful?

Comments (0)

No comments yet — say something.

0—

#2·8h ago

(chiefly, US, informal, nonstandard) Unaffected, unfazed; unimpressed.

And while many of us might be a little taken aback if Mom showed up at our offices, Secrist is utterly nonplussed, even happy about it.

Was this helpful?

Comments (0)

No comments yet — say something.

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "nonplussed".

Add definition

🗺️About Regional & Other slang

Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.