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
However, what often perplexes people are the symptoms that mimic allergies, such as wheezing, headaches and skin flushing.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2024
“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
In fact Ketteler is the only man here who perplexes a reporter or historian.
From Letters From Rome on the Council by D?llinger, Johann Joseph Ignaz von
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
"In the UK there's a bad perception of representing your country at Eurovision?" asks a perplexed Satoshi.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Interviewers sometimes seem perplexed at why she would work for so little.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Under Ian’s wise, patient and perplexed guidance, the committee—and the games—lurch from one crisis to another, some large, some small, some global.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
It seemed as perplexed as he was by the girl.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
What’s perplexing is that Nolan’s said as much himself.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
The weakness in the won then, has been perplexing to many forex analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
Those who dug into his background soon found a perplexing trail of bold statements and obfuscations.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
The mismatch between theory and observation remains one of the most perplexing problems in modern physics.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
By day, my grandmother expertly managed a thriving Bible bookstore on the Far South Side, but in her off-hours with Dandy she was reduced to a meekness I found perplexing, even as a young girl.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
