nonplussed

adjective

non·​plussed ˌnän-ˈpləst 

1

: unsure about what to say, think, or do : perplexed

She was nonplussed, but quickly collected herself, explained that the plumbing had been acting up for days, and told them to pay it no mind.

—Diane Ackerman

Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said.

—J. K. Rowling

2

chiefly US : not bothered, surprised, or impressed by something

Employees took to the sidewalks, throwing T-shirts and 20 percent off coupons at the few people who passed by. Still, an H&M spokesman in New York was nonplussed by the lack of fanfare. Opening day varies, he said, from location to location. "It's only one day."

—Saint Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press

For all his daring down the world's steepest hills, Sasaki is remarkably laid back off the slopes and nonplussed by all the sudden interest in him.

—The New York Times

Note: The use of nonplussed to mean "unimpressed" is an Americanism that has become increasingly common in recent decades and now appears frequently in published writing. It apparently arose from confusion over the meaning of nonplussed in ambiguous contexts, and it continues to be widely regarded as an error.

One of the things that most vexes language purists … is when the meaning of a word changes over time. For example, it appears that the traditional sense of the word nonplussed, "bewildered and at a loss as to what to think," is slowly giving way to a new (and opposite) sense: "unfazed." Even experienced writers are using the new sense.

—Paul McFedries

Synonyms

• baffled
• confounded
• hard put
• hard-pressed
• perplexed

Examples of nonplussed in a Sentence

the self-possessed actress seemed uncharacteristically nonplussed after the director's harsh appraisal of her performance

Recent Examples on the Web

The kids are nonplussed, with the novelty of silly voices wearing off after a few stories. —Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024

For however much preparation had assuredly gone into putting up a 20-night engagement in the massive dome, Henley sounded in those five words just as nonplussed as any veteran of the low-glitz 1970s probably ought to be. —Chris Willman, Variety, 21 Sep. 2024

And then there were the two best additions to the cast, the witchy Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) and the chronically nonplussed Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), neither of whom could be arsed to put up with Daemon’s brooding self-importance. —Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024

During the tour, journalists and diplomats were taken through a large warehouse, with airport workers looking nonplussed as the group walked between shambolic piles of boxes and floor-to-ceiling shelving units. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1