different between embarrassed vs nonplussed

English

Etymology

From embarrass + -ed. The adjective is an extension of the past participle.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?m?bæ?.?st/

Adjective

embarrassed (comparative more embarrassed, superlative most embarrassed)

1. Having a feeling of shameful discomfort.

   After returning from the pool, Aleshia felt significantly better, though she was still slightly embarrassed.

2. (archaic) Impeded; obstructed.

Synonyms

• ashamed

Antonyms

• honored, proud

Derived terms

• embarrassedly

Translations

Verb

embarrassed

1. simple past tense and past participle of embarrass

Anagrams

• dermabrases

English

Etymology

From an earlier verb form of nonplus, from Latin n?n pl?s (“no more, no further”), early 1600s. The etymological sense is similar to being left speechless as a result of confusion: the person can say or do "no more".

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /n?n?pl?st/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /n?n?pl?st/
• Rhymes: -?st

Adjective

nonplussed (comparative more nonplussed, superlative most nonplussed)

1. Bewildered; unsure how to respond or act. [from 17th c.]
   • 1724, Daniel Defoe, Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress:

     Note, the honest Quaker was nonplussed, and greatly surprised at that question.

   • 2000, Marcia Miller & Martin Lee, Vocabulary, Word of the Day

     "Dad was so nonplussed by the new VCR that he gave up and asked Mom to set it for him".

2. (proscribed, US, informal) Unfazed, unaffected, or unimpressed. [from 20th c.]

Usage notes

In recent North American English nonplussed has acquired the alternative meaning of "unimpressed". In 1999, this was considered a neologism, ostensibly from "not plussed", although "plussed" is itself a nonstandard word, seemingly a back-formation from nonplussed. The "unimpressed" meaning is proscribed as nonstandard by Ask Oxford.

Synonyms

• (bewildered): perplexed, vexed, thwarted, frustrated, foiled, confounded

Translations

Verb

nonplussed

1. simple past tense and past participle of nonplus

See also

• plussed (“not nonplussed”)

References