Nonplussed

[Bbq1]

Do you consider nonplussed to mean bewildered /confused or the opposite? I know it is sometimes considered to have two meanings but I stick to the original meaning. I see posters writing often it on here as non plussed (two words) which is obviously incorrect. I can only think they assume the non means the absence of something and don't realise that it is one word, the meaning of which they misunderstand.

I think of it as meaning taken aback, not knowing what to say, bewildered.

I see it as meaning "taken aback". I haven't seen the usage you mention, but I can imagine it...

Me too but just saw a poster on another thread saying a teenage boy was "non plussed" but it was clear she thought it to mean unbothered/chilled.

Why are you giving more credence to a random-on-the-internet than the standard definition found in all dictionaries?
Sometimes people are just plain wrong!

In the UK it means confused/not sure how to react.
In the USA it means unfazed.

If in doubt, use a dictionary.

I believe in the USA it means unbothered, unconcerned .

I used to think of myself as any old Josephine Soap. Now I can add that I'm just a random-on-the-internet. Early in my life I used to be 'only a woman' and at one point 'only a part-timer'. De-rail I know, but there was a time when firms used to advertise for a 'part-time person' and I used to wonder if they were handbasins or leeches in those parts of the week when they weren't people. Yes, I realise I might have the words 'Silly pedant' hurled at me.

@Bbq1 ,
nonplussed(adj.)
"perplexed, puzzled, confounded," c. 1600, past-participle adjective from nonplus, which is from Latin non plus "no more, no further."

You can find out all sorts of things by searching on the web. Try it.

I am not giving any credence to that use of the word. My point is that I know it's the completely wrong usage of the word but I'm trying to be nice about the people misunderstanding the meaning of the word. This is Pedants Corner after all, somewhere where we are free to comment about this sort of thing.

It's Pedants' corner.

I'd already used the dictionary (a real book, you know those things? You can find all sorts of things in books) before posting so I don't need your definition, but just idly wondered how many people misunderstand. I don't. I already understood the word before looking it up but just thought I'd check for the double meaning.

But it means both confused and unbothered?

@Bbq1 , it has two meanings. I'd take it to mean perplexed but
maybe the poster who used the word was from North America.

Obviously, non plussed is not correct as you’ve said but it’s either a typo or they just think that’s how it’s written.

Wow. I never knew that. How interesting.

It must be hard, in the US, for Brits that are struggling to cope with a bewildering situation. "I'm nonplussed!" they scream. "Ah great," says whatever customer services (etc) operative they need help from. "I'll leave you to it then."

I've just checked the etymology, which is really interesting. Literally, the meaning (from the Latin) is "No more!!, which I can certainly imagine someone saying when they are nonplussed (in the UK sense), conveying that they are in a state of "WTF, i can't take anymore"

That's not entirely true. The original meaning is still used in American English, but the second meaning has gained significant ground.

😂

I have not noticed the use of nonplussed to mean unfazed. However if so used in UK English, it would seem incorrect, and perhaps based on similar misapprehensions to 'could care less', 'allot' and even 'should of'. Nonplussed means bewildered/confused. Trying to make it mean unfazed would be wrong.