perplex
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause to be puzzled or bewildered over what is not understood or certain; confuse mentally.
Her strange response perplexed me.
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to make complicated or confused, as a matter or question.
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to hamper with complications, confusion, or uncertainty.
verb
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to puzzle; bewilder; confuse
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to complicate
to perplex an issue
Other Word Forms
- perplexer noun
Etymology
Origin of perplex
First recorded in 1585–95; back formation from perplexed
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some works are paradigmatic, some rather generic; the inclusion of others is perplexing.
Though her film is singularly witty, Kramer refuses to shy away from tough subjects and perplexing contradictions.
From Salon
Another former employee, who gave her name only as Wong, said she felt unhappy and perplexed on the day the Apple Daily closed.
From Barron's
The growing numbers of younger people being diagnosed with bowel cancer has left doctors worldwide perplexed.
From Barron's
However, it has been “a little perplexing why stocks have sold off the way they have” for the most recent round of IPOs, he said.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
