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Words that leave you nonplussed

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by ArnoldBabar, Sep 5, 2008.

  1. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    Nonplussed. Cool-sounding word, somewhat popular these days, and it's usually used to imply something completely opposite of its definition.

    If you are nonplussed, you are so affected by something that it leaves you stunned and unable to figure out how to respond:

    non·plus /nɒnˈplʌs, ˈnɒnplʌs/ verb, -plussed or -plused, -plus·sing or -plus·ing, noun
    –verb (used with object)
    1. to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely.
    –noun
    2. a state of utter perplexity.

    For some reason, everyone seems to be using it to mean unaffected. Which is just confusing. Is it the presence of the "un"? If a word is used incorrectly enough times, can that actually change its meaning?

    Is there a word that is used improperly so often that it leaves you nonplussed?
     
  2. CentralIllinoisan

    CentralIllinoisan Active Member

    The phrase "I could care less."

    Huh? So you care quite a bit? Oh, you mean "I could not care less."
     
  3. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    Excellent example.
     
  4. david kaye

    david kaye Member

    anxious
     
  5. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    same difference
     
  6. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

  7. I Digress

    I Digress Guest

    irregardless
     
  8. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

  9. T2

    T2 Member

    I've always avoided using "nonplussed" because I had no idea what it meant. Turns out it implies being at a loss for how to proceed because there apparently is "nothing more" (Latin "non plus") that can be done.

    I prefer "stymied."
     
  10. KG

    KG Active Member

    That has to be one of the words I despise most. I hear it all the time and it just makes me want to cringe.
     
  11. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Particularly since it's not a word
     
  12. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

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