密歇根新闻广播 把“nonplussed”理解成不加思索很正常

"Nonplussed²" is one of those words that historically doesn't have a particularly complicated meaning, but it's one that people frequently misuse³.

In fact, the definition of "nonplussed" has become so muddled⁴ over time, people often use it to mean the complete opposite of its actual meaning.

Again, the definition of "nonplussed" is pretty simple, so why all the confusion? You could say there's a prefix⁵ to blame.

Historically, "nonplussed" simply means to be confused or bewildered to the point where you don't know how to speak or act.

Some readers are now likely feeling a little confused, maybe even nonplussed. That's probably because a lot of people use this word to mean unfazed or not bothered by something, while others use it to mean unimpressed.

Nonplussed" first comes into English from Latin as a noun -- e.g. "he was in a state of nonplus¹" or "she was reduced to a perfect nonplus." The verb form comes next -- as in to nonplus someone and render them speechless -- and then we get the more familiar adjective form.

Over the years, many people have re-interpreted "nonplussed" to mean "not plussed." That is, if you're not plussed, then you're not phased or excited.

That reintepretation really seems to be catching⁶ on. In 2013, the American Heritage Dictionary surveyed its usage panel on this sentence: "The nine panelists showed little emotion during the broadcast and were generally nonplussed by the outcome."

Even though 57 percent of the usage panel rejected the use of "nonplussed" in this sentence, it's worth noting that 43 percent accepted. That means we're pretty pretty split over what this word means.

English Professor Anne Curzan says she's not surprised.

"As the noun and verb [for nonplussed] have fallen out of use, it's very possible for people to reinterpret the adjective," Curzan says. "Other words for 'confused' don't have that negative prefix [non]. Mark Lieberman wrote a nice post on this for Language Log and points out that confused and bewildered have no negative prefix vs. something like 'unpreterbed' or 'nonchalant.'"

1 nonplus   

v.使困窘；使狼狈

参考例句：

• Her question put me in a nonplus.她的问题使我狼狈不堪。
• The professor is never at a nonplus,and never perplexed by a problem.那位教授从来不会感到困惑，也不会被任何问题所难倒。

2 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

4 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。