Synonyms

perplexed

American

[per-plekst] / pərˈplɛkst /

adjective

bewildered; puzzled.

a perplexed state of mind.
complicated; involved; entangled.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of perplexed

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perplex “confused,” from Latin perplexus ( see per-, complex) + -ed ²

Explanation

Use the adjective perplexed to describe someone who is utterly baffled or confused. If you've ever studied for the wrong test and been surprised and confused by the exam in front of you, you've been perplexed. There's a particular bewildered kind of facial expression that goes along with the word perplexed. It's the kind of emotion that's hard to disguise. The Latin root perplexus means "confused or entangled," and "entangled" is a great way to imagine the tangled thoughts and confusion of someone who's perplexed.

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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.

Perplexed, Olson asked Gemini what account it was pulling from.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."

From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024

Perplexed, they considered various sources of the noise.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2024

Perplexed by these claims, in 2015 I attended a workshop on integrated information theory at N.Y.U.

From Scientific American • Jun. 26, 2023

Perplexed, Ron followed Harry back to the Gryffindor Tower ata run.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023