perplexed
Americanadjective
-
bewildered; puzzled.
a perplexed state of mind.
-
complicated; involved; entangled.
Other Word Forms
- perplexedly adverb
- perplexedness noun
- self-perplexed adjective
- unperplexed adjective
Etymology
Origin of perplexed
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perplex “confused,” from Latin perplexus ( per-, complex ) + -ed 2
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.
He is perplexed by a potential state intervention but he empathizes with young people looking to keep their hair longer.
Even Mr. Kuitenbrouwer is sometimes disarmingly perplexed by his reverence for all things related to maple syrup.
When she and her family inevitably left town and didn’t stumble upon Charlie Brown and his motley crew, she was perplexed.
From Los Angeles Times
The December slump has perplexed investors, given that the final month of the year is historically one of the strongest in terms of stock performance, with an average gain of around 1.4%.
From Barron's
There are anomalies in the labor market, which are leaving people like your son feeling perplexed.
From MarketWatch
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.
