perplexity

[ per-plek-si-tee ]

/ pərˈplɛk sɪ ti /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR perplexity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural per·plex·i·ties.

the state of being perplexed; confusion; uncertainty.

something that perplexes: a case plagued with perplexities.

a tangled, involved, or confused condition or situation.

Words nearby perplexity

perpetuity, perphenazine, perpignan, perplex, perplexed, perplexity, perquisite, perrault, perret, perrier water, perrin

Origin of perplexity

1350–1400; Middle English perplexite < Old French < Late Latin perplexitās, equivalent to Latin perplex(us) (see perplexed) + -itās -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for perplexity

It is the perplexity of this situation that has caused most of the paralysis in Congress.
Democracy Demands a Journalist-Source Shield Law|Geoffrey R. Stone|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I am not sure how helpful that is, except that the communing certainly keeps us from feeling totally isolated in our perplexity.
Susan Minot on Africa, Joseph Kony, and the Limits of Writing About Love|Lea Carpenter|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Greeted with derision in some corners and perplexity in others, the movement's new magazine launches at CPAC today.
Steven Allen: The Tea Party’s Editor in Chief|David A. Graham|February 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This change in plan was a source of perplexity bordering on irritation to the Queen.
Why William and Kate Held Off Again|Tina Brown|June 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST

"I comprehend you," said she, with an air of some perplexity.
Arthur Mervyn|Charles Brockden Brown
He paused a moment scratching his head in perplexity, and then blurted forth without reserve.
Paradise Garden|George Gibbs
In her perplexity she went over the whole thing time and again.
A Book of Bryn Mawr Stories|Marian T. MacIntosh
She could no longer control the manifestations of her impatience and her perplexity.
Christmas Roses and Other Stories|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
She looked into her lover's face and saw in it a look of commiseration and perplexity.
War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy

British Dictionary definitions for perplexity

perplexity

/ (pəˈplɛksɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the state of being perplexed

the state of being intricate or complicated

something that perplexes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

perplexity

noun, plural per·plex·i·ties.

Words related to perplexity

Words nearby perplexity

Origin of perplexity

Examples from the Web for perplexity

British Dictionary definitions for perplexity

noun plural -ties