nonplussed
non·plussed/ˌnɑnˈplʌst/adjective, verb
nonplussed is spelled N-O-N-P-L-U-S-S-E-D: 10 letters and 2 syllables (non·plussed). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nonplussed means “Unsure how to act or respond; bewildered, perplexed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nonplussed?
| Letters | 10: N-O-N-P-L-U-S-S-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: non·plussed |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 82,325th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nonplussed?
Nonplussed appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nonplussed?
- UK /nɒnˈplʌst/
- US /ˌnɑnˈplʌst/
Nonplussed has 2 syllables, split non·plussed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nonplussed.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-Nonplussed.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nonplussed?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nonplussed from its last stressed vowel (/ʌst/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nonplussed
- more nonplussed comparative
- most nonplussed superlative
- non-plussed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nonplussed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unsure how to act or respond; bewildered, perplexed.
- 2
USinformalnonstandardUnaffected, unfazed; unimpressed.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of nonplus
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nonplussed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense unsure how to act or respond – see also bewildered, perplexed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déconcerté, interloqué, perplexe |
| German | verblüfft |
| Portuguese | desconcertado, perplexo |
| Spanish | perplejo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nonplussed come from?
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”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).