perplex
Americanverb (used with object)
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perplexes,
present (3rd person singular)
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perplexed,
past participle, past
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perplexing
present participle
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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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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:
The artifacts from Sanxingdui, as the site is known, stirred questions that still perplex experts four decades later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
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
Yusef wasn’t terrified of girls in hijab; they didn’t perplex him.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
She perplexes the heart, in part because she's more than simply a Don Juan figure.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2022
“It’s one of the questions that perplexes me.”
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2022
Yet even there, the ethnic aisle persists, and its composition often perplexes her.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
This is the category that most perplexes analysts.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2021
The depth, the intensity of the passion with which he repeats the words of her song astonishes and perplexes him vaguely.
From Faith and Unfaith by Duchess
We got lost once, and our entourage received several perplexed glances from workers, but otherwise it was smooth sailing.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
New Zealand police came to the rescue of a seal crossing a busy road, helping the perplexed pinniped pup back safely into the water, they said Monday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
You saw an unfocused and unbothered bunch who, afterward, seemed mainly perplexed by their lack of execution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
"All of the employees had been doing this for decades. I was this newcomer and I had really no idea what was going on. So, they were really perplexed by me as well."
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
There is something very sad about contemplating a perplexed stuffed alligator when it is dark outside and you do not know who you are or who your parents were or anything about yourself at all.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
But all the more perplexing was Holmes’ reticence to admit guilt when caught with hands as red as her lipstick, talking herself in circles in pursuit of her truth.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
Matthew McConaughey stars as an Oklahoma honeymaker in a perplexing film that also features Kurt Russell and Angelina LookingGlass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
To think they have allowed him to enter the final year of his contract is perplexing - but that is where we are.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The weakness in the won then, has been perplexing to many forex analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
But the tension of the elders—their expectation, which weighted like a thick blanket over the crowd—was the most perplexing of all.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
