Standard Lemma guide

nonplussed

adj · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /nɒnˈplʌst/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌnɑnˈplʌst/
  • rhymes with -ʌst
  • CMU ARPABET: N AA0 N P L AH1 S T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Unsure how to act or respond; bewildered, perplexed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

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, flabagasted, flabbergasted, flabbergastered, flummoxed, flustered, fluttered, jumbled, minussed, misled, mixed up, muddled, muzzy, mystified, nonplussed, not with it, out of it, out to lunch, perplexed, punch-drunk, puzzled, spaced out, speechless, stumped, stymied, thrown, up a tree

Antonyms: plussed

2

adj

Meaning 2

Unaffected, unfazed; unimpressed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, informal, nonstandard

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blasé, jaded, adiaphroistic, apathetic, apathistical, blithe, deaf, cool, shiftless, dispassionate, dull, enervated, gallionic, halfhearted, heartless, impassive, ineffervescible, insouciant, indifferent, insensible, languid, languorous, Laodicean, lethargic, listless, lackadaisical, lotophagous, lukewarm, meh, mopey, nonchalant, nonplussed, otiose, phlegmatic, pococurante, spiritless, supine, tepid, torpid, torpedinous, unaroused, uncaring, unconcerned, unenthusiastic, unimpressible, uninterested, unlively, unmoved, untouched, unzealous, world-weary

Antonyms: plussed

3

verb

Meaning 3

simple past and past participle of nonplus

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

filled with bewilderment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • at a loss to understand those remarks
  • puzzled that she left without saying goodbye

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: at a loss(p), nonplused, puzzled

Antonyms: none provided

History

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”.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: շփոթված (špʻotʻvac) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Bulgarian: шашарди́сан (šašardísan) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Dutch: verbluft — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Finnish: hämmentynyt — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Finnish: ymmällään — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • French: déconcerté — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • French: interloqué — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • French: perplexe — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • German: verblüfft — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Hindi: भौचक (bhaucak) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Hungarian: döbbent — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Italian: perplesso — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Macedonian: збу́нет (zbúnet) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Macedonian: ста́писан (stápisan) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Māori: matekiri — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Māori: pākira — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Māori: rōrī — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Polish: skonsternowany — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Portuguese: desconcertado — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Portuguese: perplexo — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Russian: расте́рянный (rastérjannyj) — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Spanish: perplejo — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed
  • Swedish: ställd — unsure how to act or respond — see also bewildered, perplexed