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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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:
The chance discovery led to one of the greatest archaeological finds in modern history, and the artifacts from Sanxingdui 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
Still, the trajectory of the conflict perplexes him.
From Washington Post ● May 21, 2022
Yet even there, the ethnic aisle persists, and its composition often perplexes her.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
"She has resisted every offer of kindness, my dear child, and it is the difficulty as to what course to pursue, to compel submission and confession, that so grieves and perplexes me."
From Home Influence A Tale for Mothers and Daughters by Grace Aguilar
At Telluride, Fielder, who had initially planned to stay behind the scenes, admitted he was still perplexed by the couple’s openness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
But residents were perplexed when tens of thousands appeared, annoying locals with their loud songs and haphazard flying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The president doesn’t seem alarmed, only somewhat perplexed, by this turn in events.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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
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
Through another, it’s a perplexing time to break into the existing-home sale market.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
And yet persons here and there declined to migrate; that, even to those involved, constituted a perplexing irrationality.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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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.
