perplexed
Americanadjective
-
bewildered; puzzled.
a perplexed state of mind.
-
complicated; involved; entangled.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of perplexed
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perplex “confused,” from Latin perplexus ( see per-, complex) + -ed 2
Explanation
Use the adjective perplexed to describe someone who is utterly baffled or confused. If you've ever studied for the wrong test and been surprised and confused by the exam in front of you, you've been perplexed. There's a particular bewildered kind of facial expression that goes along with the word perplexed. It's the kind of emotion that's hard to disguise. The Latin root perplexus means "confused or entangled," and "entangled" is a great way to imagine the tangled thoughts and confusion of someone who's perplexed.
Vocabulary lists containing perplexed
The Crucible
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Emotions on Display
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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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.
Perplexed, Olson asked Gemini what account it was pulling from.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024
Perplexed by these claims, in 2015 I attended a workshop on integrated information theory at N.Y.U.
From Scientific American • Jun. 26, 2023
Perplexed, the dentist dug deep into his dental school textbooks and concluded that Charley had an extraordinarily rare disorder called hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2023
Perplexed, Harry and Neville took the scroll addressed to each of them and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
