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. )

Example Sentences

“The Bride!” is surprising and strange, perplexing and aggravating.

From Salon

Ultimately, “In the Days of My Youth” confronts readers with a perplexing question: Can someone be a good father but a bad man?

From The Wall Street Journal

Some works are paradigmatic, some rather generic; the inclusion of others is perplexing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Though her film is singularly witty, Kramer refuses to shy away from tough subjects and perplexing contradictions.

From Salon

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

Related Words

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