Nonplussed

On Friday, I posed the following question to my Facebook friends: 

Quick poll. Without looking at a dictionary, consider the following sentence: "He was nonplussed by all the activity going on around him." Which of these two sentences most closely matches your understanding of that statement? A) "He was unfazed by all the activity going on around him" OR B) "He was perplexed by all the activity going on around him."

The responses where overwhelmingly in the "A" camp. And, of course, folks wanted to know why I asked. My response ended up being rather long for Facebook, so here it is . . . 


Time for the dissertation, which I'm sure everyone has been anxiously awaiting . . . so, I love the word nonplussed. I'm not sure where I first ran into it (no doubt a book) and I don't use it very often, but it's a great word. Not only is it fun to say (Heather, I think it would fit well in the "Bulbous Bouffant" song!), but its definition (spoiler alert: B) is wonderful too. I used the word "perplexed" in the sample sentence, but (to my understanding, at least), it has a more nuanced meaning. Not just perplexed, but a little unsettled or taken aback as well. Something has happened that you weren't expecting and you don't quite know how to react. I have never heard it used in any other way, but then again, I'm not sure I've ever actually heard it in use (aside from saying it myself) - I've just read it in books.

However, the other day (as my mother surmised in her response to my Facebook question), an unnamed person used it a sentence where I would not have expected it. I was nonplussed by that usage of nonplussed! The sentence was "He was nonplussed when I told him," so it could have meant the gentleman was perplexed, but I knew what he had been told, and I wouldn't have expected the response to be bewilderment. My speaking partner noticed my confused look and after I explained my understanding of the statement, insisted that nonplussed actually meant "unfazed." A quick Google search declared my definition to be the primary one, but that the alternative was also in "North American informal" usage.

I was unsatisfied with this answer (although it nicely ended the debate with my sparring partner) and did some more digging once I returned home, landing on this page. Basically, I'm right (aren't I always! ;-P) but in modern times, folks are trending towards the opposite meaning. I can somewhat understand this - as this article points out, most adjectives that mean confused (perplexed, addled, bewildered) are non-negated, while there are several examples of negated words that mean the opposite (impassive, nonchalant, unfazed). So, if you come across the word with no other context markers, you'll use your previous knowledge to infer its meaning, hence the confusion.

The first linked article ends with a question - do you insist on using the "proper" definition of words (prescriptivist) or are you ok with changing it up (descriptivist)? I must admit to being more of the former than the latter - but at I also realize that all language undergoes change and we use words today that mean nothing like they did even 100 years ago (this is why footnotes are key when reading, say, Shakespeare). But, like I said, I LOVE the word nonplussed and its traditional definition. In reading the comments on that article, one respondent noted that he polled his friends and the majority agreed with the new definition. I decided to do the same, with the same result!

Disappointing for me - but the question remains - do I accept and embrace the new definition or rage, rage, against the dying of the light? (I performed that poem in Forensics in high school and now use it anytime I can!) I know I'll never use it in the new sense - that just sounds wrong to my ear - but I may temper my use of it in the future, knowing it can lead to confusion. Which is sad. Because while there are plenty of synonyms for the new meaning, the ones for the traditional meaning don't have the exact same shade that nonplussed does. In some ways, I feel like our language is growing smaller when we give up on more difficult meanings or words.

What do you think? Do agree with me that we should hold fast to tradition? I guess I'm a conservative in more ways than one! Or do you think we should be more accepting of change? I'd love to hear your thoughts - even though they may nonplus me!