perplexity

[per-plek-si-tee]

See more 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.

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. 2019

Related Words for perplexity

puzzlement, bewilderment, riddle, conundrum, puzzle, mystification, stickler, question, cliffhanger, charade, subtlety, occult, cryptogram, crux, puzzler, enigma, secrecy, poser, why, twister

Examples from the Web for perplexity

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of perplexity

"I know not about that," said the big archer, scratching his head in perplexity.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
In her perplexity, she was appealing to him who was practically a stranger.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Langdon's perplexity was cut short by the cry, "They're off!"
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
But there was no trace of merriment or perplexity in the way he looked at Mr Verloc.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
She hurried to her own apartment, leaving them all in astonishment and perplexity.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for perplexity

perplexity

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

Word Origin and History for perplexity

c.1300, "bewilderment," from Old French perplexite "confusion, perplexity," from Late Latin perplexitatem (nominative perplexitas), from Latin perplexus "confused, involved, interwoven," from per- "completely" + plexus "entangled," past participle of plectere "to twine" (see complex (adj.)). From 1590s as "something that causes perplexity."