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

Utterly at a nonplus, she at length returned to the donkey—that is, to the spot, so far as she could judge, where she had left it.

From Verner's Pride by Mrs. Henry Wood

Peter was puzzled, and scratched his ear like a man at a nonplus.

From The Daltons, Volume II (of II) Or,Three Roads In Life by Charles James Lever

It happened most fortunately that there were a number of Chippewayan Indians encamped on the spot at the time, else we should have been completely at a nonplus.

From Notes of a Twenty-Five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory Volume II. by John M'lean

But it must needs be condemned, because it renders the character of the term ambiguous, and is such a grammatical difficulty as puts the parser at a dead nonplus.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

He isn’t nodding his head or pumping his fist or rapping the lyrics like no few of the V.I.P.s present; in fact he seems almost nonplused.

From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2022

Nguyen, 43, is delighted by the attention the script has received, even while sounding a little nonplused.

From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2020

Ronstadt even seemed nonplused about the Kennedy Center Honor she will receive in Washington in December.

From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2019

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

As his comments become more inflammatory, the film cuts to the increasingly nonplussed reactions of Palantine and an aide, who have realized their driver is unwell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

Durant appeared nonplussed by the spat, while admitting that he had deliberately taken a combative approach into the game.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

"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

"It's hard for me to believe that targets and timing and weapons would not have been classified," he told Gabbard, who remained nonplussed.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025

Ser Rodrik's hand went to his face to stroke his whiskers and discovered once again that they were gone, lie looked nonplussed.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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

He received visitors with the graciousness of the courteous head of a department, who resigns himself to listen to demands, allowing them to talk as he smiled faintly, and nonplussing them by his calmness.

From Une Vie, a Piece of String and Other Stories by Guy de Maupassant

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

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

From The Paternoster Ruby by Charles Edmonds Walk

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