nonplus

He found cross-examinations mentally invigorating, soon learned that he could nonplus storming attorneys if he kept smiling no matter how galling their insinuations.

From Time Magazine Archive

Sir Julian, thou dost nonplus my understanding of myself absurdly.

From Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne

The small boy hesitated, plainly at a nonplus.

From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan

Ah! there Roy could not answer him; he was at a nonplus; he was unable to say whether the codicil had been found or not.

From Verner's Pride by Mrs. Henry Wood

The young lord, thus abandoned, looked at first at a nonplus, and seemed for a while more than half-inclined to follow.

From Shrewsbury A Romance by Stanley J. Weyman

Leigh Rosser was similarly nonplused while describing his biggest challenge as design fabrication lead.

From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024

The shepherds were nonplused by the project but became serious about matters of geography.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2022

But even sophisticated cocktail consumers were nonplused by his pitch, so he switched to a more accessible product: applejack.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2021

And this, in turn, has left some of his peers nonplused — grumbling at what they see as a flimsy theory or bewildered as to why Harvard’s top astronomer won’t shut up about aliens.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2019

“I sure could use some lumber for my front porch,” he said, nonplused.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

The unflappable Lincoln might have been a little nonplussed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

In a brief phone interview, a worker at Unique Bite Eatery in Indio appeared nonplussed and said there was no damage at the restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026

Currencies, bonds, and stocks appeared to be nonplussed.

From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026

"This is how I'd do it if I was DJ," he tells a group of nonplussed staff as dance music strains at his laptop speakers.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025

He bolted out of the restaurant, leaving his nonplussed dinner guests behind, to view the evidence for himself.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Weaver, however, verged on nonplussing co-hosts Brian Williams and Rachel Maddow, as well as reporter Steve Kornacki, MSNBC's millennial version of CNN's king-of-the-"Magic Wall" John King.

From US News ● Apr. 20, 2016

Our higher officials are fond as a rule of nonplussing their subordinates; the methods to which they have recourse to attain that end are rather various.

From Fathers and Children by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

While his powers of discussion of a subject were great, the power that especially characterized him was that of nonplussing his antagonist with a snub or a sarcasm.

From The Brothers' War by John Calvin Reed

Dismissing this nonplussing phase, I turned to the subject of the gem once more.

From The Paternoster Ruby by Charles Edmonds Walk

The question was awkward, nonplussing Jerky, and, the second time, calling for explanation from his sister; who, however, promptly vouchsafed it.

From No Quarter! by Mayne Reid