meaning - Nonplussed defines its own antonym?


I recently encountered this word while reading an article and found that its two basic definitions are "Bewildered" and "Unfazed." How can the word mean both these things as they seem to be direct opposites of each other?


Should the sentence in which it's used always explicitly reveal the intended meaning?



And while many of us might be a little taken aback if Mom showed up at our offices, Secrist is utterly nonplussed, even happy about it. source



In the above sentence, it's obvious that Secrist is "unfazed" without even knowing the definition of nonplussed.


Instead of adding clarity to the meaning being conveyed, "nonplussed" seems to just add confusion. Then again, maybe I'm missing something. Thoughts?


My first post here so please edit/re-tag as appropriate.



Answer



Merriam-Webster's definition of nonplussed offers faze as a synonym:



transitive verb : to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do : perplex


Synonyms: abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, faze, fluster, mortify, embarrass, rattle



Perhaps more importantly, Wiktionary preempts the 'unfazed' definition as proscribed:



proscribed — Some educators or other authorities recommend against the listed usage.



and goes on to say:



In recent North American English nonplussed has come to mean "unimpressed".1 In 1999, this was considered a neologism, ostensibly from "not plussed", although "plussed" by itself is not a recognized English word. The "unimpressed" meaning is not considered standard usage by at least one authoritative source.



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