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nonplus

[non-pluhs, non-pluhs]
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verb (used with object), non·plussed or non·plused, non·plus·sing or non·plus·ing.
  1. to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely.
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noun
  1. a state of utter perplexity.
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Origin of nonplus

1575–85; (noun) < Latin nōn plūs literally, not more, no further, i.e., a state in which nothing more can be done

Synonyms for nonplus

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1. perplex, confuse, confound, disconcert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for nonplus

mystify, dumbfound, bewilder, faze, disconcert, astound, baffle, astonish, daze, fluster, discountenance, stump, rattle, puzzle, confound, thwart, boggle, paralyze, stymie, stun

Examples from the Web for nonplus

Historical Examples of nonplus

  • Peter was puzzled, and scratched his ear like a man at a nonplus.

    The Daltons, Volume II (of II)

    Charles James Lever

  • They were put to a nonplus, and summoned the Devil to their relief.

  • The inquiring mind is at a nonplus, and is likely to remain so.

  • This reply seemed to nonplus us all with the exception of Maitland and Godin.

    The Darrow Enigma

    Melvin L. Severy

  • Wingate was now at a nonplus, and “could not well tell what to say.”

British Dictionary definitions for nonplus

nonplus

verb -plusses, -plussing or -plussed or US -pluses, -plusing or -plused
  1. (tr) to put at a loss; confoundhe was nonplussed by the sudden announcement
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noun plural -pluses
  1. a state of utter perplexity prohibiting action or speech
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Word Origin for nonplus

C16: from Latin nōn plūs no further (that is, nothing further can be said or done)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nonplus

v.

"to bring to a nonplus, to perplex," 1590s, from the noun (1580s), properly "state where 'nothing more' can be done or said," from Latin non plus "no more, no further" (see plus). Related: Nonplussed.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper