NONPLUSSED So then, “nonplussed.” To be nonplussed is to be confused, startled, at a loss for words. Lately the word’s devolved into a synonym for relaxed, cool as a cucumber, chill, and that’s a problem. How has this come to be? Presumably the “plussed” part strikes some eyes/ears as meaning “excited,” so the “non” part seems to turn that on its head, and there you have “nonplussed” serving as its own antonym.*11
