perplexing

American  

[per-plek-sing] / pərˈplɛk sɪŋ /

adjective

1. puzzling or bewildering; hard to understand, figure out, or solve.

   One of the most perplexing aspects of owning a cat is trying to decipher its various body movements and meows.

   The history of the universe is one of the most perplexing subjects of all time.

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Other Word Forms

• perplexingly adverb
• unperplexing adjective

Etymology

Origin of perplexing

perplex ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

The adjective perplexing describes something it is confusing. Before you're fluent in Arabic, you may find the unfamiliar alphabet to be totally perplexing. The Latin root of perplexing is perplexus, which means involved, confused, or intricate. This root is also found in the verb perplex, or confuse. Problems are often described as perplexing, especially when several attempts to solve them are unsuccessful. You may have a perplexing decision to make, like where to go to college or whether to stay friends with a fun person who has disappointed you in some way.

Example Sentences

However, it has been “a little perplexing why stocks have sold off the way they have” for the most recent round of IPOs, he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

The study also found a perplexing rise in unexplained illnesses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

It has been a perplexing and dramatic downturn in form - if not fortune.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

It’s both perplexing and extremely telling that “Hamnet” doesn’t let the viewer see the world through Hamnet’s eyes until the boy is near death, cast into a world between ours and the next one.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

Or—and this was the perplexing thought—had she used him?

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• baffling
• complicated
• confusing
• convoluted
• disconcerting
• knotty
• mysterious
• mystifying
• puzzling
• thorny
• worrying