nonplus
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to render utterly perplexed by something unexpected; puzzle completely.
He nonplussed his questioners by answering in riddles.
- Synonyms:
- disconcert, confound, confuse, perplex
-
to cause to feel indifferent, calm, or unexcited.
The shoppers were entirely nonplussed by the disturbance in the street, continuing to gaze at window displays as they strolled along.
noun
verb
noun
Usage
See nonplussed ( def. ).
Etymology
Origin of nonplus
First recorded in 1575–85; (noun) from Latin nōn plūs literally, “not more, no further,” that is, a state in which nothing more can be done
Explanation
To nonplus is to baffle or confuse someone to the point that they have nothing to say. Something weird and mysterious can nonplus you, like a play that is performed entirely by chickens. If you know a little French or Latin, you'll recognize that "non plus" means "no more." When something bewildering nonpluses you, there's no more you can say or do about it. A goal of getting poor grades, running with a bad crowd, and refusing to eat would leave your parents nonplussed. Sometimes people misuse nonplus to mean "unimpressed," but that's not correct: to nonplus is to puzzle, confuse, and dumbfound.
Vocabulary lists containing nonplus
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He found cross-examinations mentally invigorating, soon learned that he could nonplus storming attorneys if he kept smiling no matter how galling their insinuations.
From Time Magazine Archive
A grand dinner, and fine company; but, talking French, and nothing but French, all the time, Mrs. D. and your humble servant were rather at a nonplus.
From The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. I by Charles James Lever
He finds doubts and scruples better than resolves them, and has always some argument to nonplus himself.
From Microcosmography or, a Piece of the World Discovered; in Essays and Characters by John Earle
The small boy hesitated, plainly at a nonplus.
From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan
Here was a nonplus, not perhaps without its comical side.
From Chivalry by Elizabeth Shippen Green Elliott
Rupert watches Nate’s mixed feelings, and is clearly nonplused at the chinks in the armor he has been trying to build around Nate.
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2023
The shepherds were nonplused by the project but became serious about matters of geography.
From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2022
The columnist Herb Caen, nonplused, invented the term “Beatnik” in 1958, which made the Beats sound like something you’d want to flick off, like fleas.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2019
And this, in turn, has left some of his peers nonplused — grumbling at what they see as a flimsy theory or bewildered as to why Harvard’s top astronomer won’t shut up about aliens.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2019
“I sure could use some lumber for my front porch,” he said, nonplused.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
It featured Evan, Anthony and Zachary performing a rendition of Hilary Duff’s “What Dreams Are Made Of” before a crowd of nonplussed seniors, while Darshan danced along next to them on a laptop screen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
Currencies, bonds, and stocks appeared to be nonplussed.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Ford, who died of natural causes at age 93 in 2006, was said to be nonplussed by Moore’s attempt on his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
But Rotem Naftalovich, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, one of the three researchers involved, said the US food regulator was nonplussed by the admittedly "wonky" idea.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
There it was witnessed by a nonplussed Luis Alvarez, whom Compton had brought to Chicago to help him organize the bomb project.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Weaver, however, verged on nonplussing co-hosts Brian Williams and Rachel Maddow, as well as reporter Steve Kornacki, MSNBC's millennial version of CNN's king-of-the-"Magic Wall" John King.
From US News ● Apr. 20, 2016
Our higher officials are fond as a rule of nonplussing their subordinates; the methods to which they have recourse to attain that end are rather various.
From Fathers and Children by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
The question was awkward, nonplussing Jerky, and, the second time, calling for explanation from his sister; who, however, promptly vouchsafed it.
From No Quarter! by Mayne Reid
It is closely woven in with that of Poindexter, and presents one feature which may occasion you no surprise, but which, I own, came near nonplussing me.
From The Circular Study by Anna Katharine Green
He received visitors with the graciousness of the courteous head of a department, who resigns himself to listen to demands, allowing them to talk as he smiled faintly, and nonplussing them by his calmness.
From Une Vie, a Piece of String and Other Stories by Guy de Maupassant
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
