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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perplexsimple
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perplexessimple
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have perplexedperfect
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has perplexedperfect
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am perplexingprogressive
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are perplexingprogressive
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is perplexingprogressive
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have been perplexingperfect progressive
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has been perplexingperfect progressive
Past
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perplexedsimple
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had perplexedperfect
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was perplexingprogressive
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were perplexingprogressive
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had been perplexingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perplex
First recorded in 1585–95; back formation from perplexed
Explanation
To perplex someone is to amaze, baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, mystify, or puzzle them. Perplexing things are hard to understand. If you're perplexed, then you're confused. Different things perplex different people. In football, a tricky defense will perplex a quarterback. Complicated formulas can perplex math students. When people do weird things, it can be perplexing. Anything hard to understand might perplex you. Perplexing also means to make something more complicated. So when you see the word perplex, think "Huh?"
Vocabulary lists containing perplex
List 1
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In a Pickle: Words for When You're in Trouble
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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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.
See Examples For:
Joao Neves, Kvaratskhelia and Mendes ended up on the left flank in close proximity - an asymmetrical set-up intended to perplex Liverpool.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
Zika, a mosquito-borne virus first identified in 1947 in a Rhesus macaque monkey, continues to perplex scientists in many ways nearly 80 years later.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2025
This pattern of abruptly rejecting safe foods can perplex parents and clinicians alike and, on the surface, can look like dieting.
From Slate ● Jan. 4, 2025
Despite the ubiquitous presence of “like” scales everywhere we look, such ratings perplex scientists because they are wholly subjective and so thought to be of unclear relevance and accuracy.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2022
Yusef wasn’t terrified of girls in hijab; they didn’t perplex him.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
“What perplexes me is that despite the plant being known for its stinky smell, it also produces several sweet-smelling chemicals.”
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
“It’s one of the questions that perplexes me.”
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2022
This is the category that most perplexes analysts.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2021
So, if you are a white person and someone calls you racist, and the charge perplexes you, what should you do?
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2019
The phenomenon however which perplexes me most in Cod.
From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Burgon, John William
The perplexed company contacted the police and investigations commenced.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Impersonating a perplexed English person, the comedian says: "Let me get this straight ... you actively support the other teams because they're playing England?"
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The same concerns about gun control that perplexed Renaissance rulers remain unresolved in the United States today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
I have struggled with my Catholic faith over the years, but nothing has perplexed me more than the idea of suffering.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
It lay across her knees and, with a perplexed frown, the tip of her tongue between her lips, the girl was studying the weapon curiously.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
"Every step further back in time makes the puzzle more perplexing: How did the Universe produce supermassive black holes so quickly?"
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
The weakness in the won then, has been perplexing to many forex analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
"This dark, industrial location as her wedding venue couldn't be more perplexing," Gaffney said.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Could my beloved Pixar, which had already anthropomorphized so many things, really make something so upsetting and perplexing, and on so many levels?
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
His demeanor had a kind of melancholy which was perplexing.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
