nonplus means A state of bewilderment or perplexity.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, nonplus ranks #856 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,549 of 14,322 for Scariest Words, #2,308 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,317 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words.
nonplus is pronounced /nɒnˈplʌs/.
Why “nonplus” is a great word
A state of complete perplexity that halts thought and speech, leaving one at a standstill. From the Latin nōn plūs, literally 'no more, no further,' from nōn ('not') + plūs ('more, further'), first recorded in English use 1575–85. Unlike 'baffle,' which suggests a frustrated struggle against confusion, or 'confound,' which implies a disordered jumbling of expectations, to be nonplussed is to encounter a perfect, deadening limit of understanding. It is the debater silenced by a flawless rebuttal, the explorer facing a sheer cliff where the map promised a path, the mind arriving at a door for which no key exists. This is the quiet terminus where all forward motion ceases.
Etymology
The 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 verb is derived from the noun.
noun
- A state of bewilderment or perplexity.“[A]ltering Vaudemont, to Vallemontanus, and metamorphoſing them, by ſuting them to the Græcian or Latin tongue, we know not what to make of them, and are often at a non-plus.”
verb
- To bewilder or perplex (someone); to confound, to flummox.“You couldn’t have told it from my manner, but I was feeling more than a bit nonplussed. The spectacle before me was enough to nonplus anyone.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- bafflement 89% match — The result or state of being baffled, confused, or puzzled; a shocked feeling of perplexed bewilderment, caused by being utterly unable to understand something or to move on from one's incomprehension. vs nonplus →
- bewilder 89% match — To confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices. vs nonplus →
- bewilderment 87% match — The state of being bewildered. vs nonplus →
- stupefaction 87% match — The state of extreme shock or astonishment. vs nonplus →
- consternation 87% match — Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for reflection; terror, combined with amazement; dismay. vs nonplus →
- aporia 86% match — An expression of deliberation with oneself regarding uncertainty or doubt as to how to proceed. vs nonplus →
- quandary 86% match — A state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or puzzlement. vs nonplus →
- dumbstruck 86% match — So shocked as to be unable to speak. vs nonplus →