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
“Brand New Key” wasn’t the first No. 1 song to perplex listeners, and it wouldn’t be the last.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
“You puzzle me, Jane: your look and tone of sorrowful audacity perplex and pain me. I want an explanation.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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
As for the current disparity in white NFL coaches compared to minorities, it still perplexes Holcomb.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Yet even there, the ethnic aisle persists, and its composition often perplexes her.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
The phenomenon however which perplexes me most in Cod.
From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Burgon, John William
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
Then in the 2010s fertility dropped again, leaving researchers perplexed.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 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
Hellenists like myself have been delighted by this upsurge of Greek drama but also perplexed by the dominance of a single playwright and a single set of myths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
I watch in perplexed silence as this continues, on and on, as everyone around me continues to cheer on the game.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
"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
Because the term white crime lacks social meaning, the term white criminal is also perplexing.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
