Adjacent Words

Perplex definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PERPLEX', v.t. [L. perplexus, perplexor; per and plector, to twist; L. plico, to fold.]
1. To make intricate; to involve; to entangle; to make complicated and difficult to be understood or unraveled.
What was thought obscure,perplexed and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view.
2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to tease with suspense, anxiety or ambiguity.
We can distinguish no general truths, or at least shall be apt to perplex the mind.
We are perplexed, but not in despair. 2 Corinthians 4.
3. To plague; to vex.
PERPLEX', a. Intricate; difficult. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me-- I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me" [syn: perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound]
2: make more complicated; "There was a new development that complicated the matter" [syn: complicate, perplex] [ant: simplify]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: obsolete perplex, adjective, involved, perplexed, from Latin perplexus, from per- thoroughly + plexus involved, from past participle of plectere to braid, twine — more at per-, ply Date: 1593 1. to make unable to grasp something clearly or to think logically and decisively about something <her attitude perplexes me> <a perplexing problem> 2. to make intricate or involved ; complicate Synonyms: see puzzle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 puzzle, bewilder, or disconcert (a person, a person's mind, etc.). 2 complicate or confuse (a matter). 3 (as perplexed adj.) archaic entangled, intertwined. Derivatives: perplexedly adv. perplexingly adv. Etymology: back-form. f. perplexed f. obs. perplex (adj.) f. OF perplexe or L perplexus (as PER-, plexus past part. of plectere plait)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perplex Per*plex", a. [L. perplexus entangled, intricate; per + plectere, plexum, to plait, braid: cf. F. perplexe. See Per-, and Plait.] Intricate; difficult. [Obs.] --Glanvill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perplex Per*plex", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perplexed; p. pr. & vb. n. Perplexing.] [L. perplexari. See Perplex, a.] 1. To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated, and difficult to be unraveled or understood; as, to perplex one with doubts. No artful wildness to perplex the scene. --Pope. What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view. --Locke. 2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to bewilder; to confuse; to trouble with ambiguity, suspense, or anxiety. ``Perplexd beyond self-explication.'' --Shak. We are perplexed, but not in despair. --2 Cor. iv. 8. We can distinguish no general truths, or at least shall be apt to perplex the mind. --Locke. 3. To plague; to vex; to tormen. --Glanvill. Syn: To entangle; involve; complicate; embarrass; puzzle; bewilder; confuse; distract. See Embarrass.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(perplexes, perplexing, perplexed) If something perplexes you, it confuses and worries you because you do not understand it or because it causes you difficulty. It perplexed him because he was tackling it the wrong way. VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Entangle, tangle, complicate, involve, snarl, make intricate, make difficult, encumber. 2. Embarrass, puzzle, distract, pose, bewilder, beset, mystify, confuse, confound, pother. 3. Plague, vex, harass, tease, molest, trouble, annoy, disturb, worry, pester, embarrass, bother.

Moby Thesaurus

addle, addle the wits, ail, amaze, appanage, astonish, astound, awe, awestrike, babble, baffle, balk, ball up, bamboozle, be Greek to, be beyond one, be incredible, be the matter, be too deep, be unbelievable, beat, beat one, becloud, bedaze, bedazzle, befog, befuddle, beset, bewilder, birthright, blast, boggle, bother, bowl down, bowl over, brave, buffalo, bug, cap, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, cloud, complicate, complicate matters, concern, confound, confront, confuse, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, dash, daze, dazzle, defeat, defy, destroy, discombobulate, discomfit, discommode, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, dish, disorganize, disorient, disrupt, distract, distress, disturb, dumbfound, dumbfounder, elude, embarrass, embrangle, ensnarl, entangle, escape one, fill with doubt, flabbergast, floor, flummox, flurry, fluster, flutter, fog, foil, foul up, frustrate, fuddle, fuss, get, gibber, harass, implicate, inconvenience, involve, irk, keep in suspense, knock the chocks, knot, lagniappe, largess, lick, lose one, louse up, maze, mess up, mist, mix up, moider, muck, muck up, muddle, mystify, need explanation, nonplus, not make sense, not penetrate, overwhelm, palm oil, paralyze, pass belief, pass comprehension, perks, perquisite, perturb, petrify, plague, pose, pother, pourboire, prerogative, privilege, put out, put to it, puzzle, raise hell, ramify, rattle, ravel, riddle, ruffle, ruin, sabotage, scotch, screw up, snarl, snarl up, speak in tongues, spike, spoil, stagger, startle, stick, stonewall, strike dead, strike dumb, strike with wonder, stumble, stump, stun, stupefy, stymie, surprise, talk double Dutch, tangle, throw, throw into confusion, thwart, tip, torment, trouble, unsettle, upset, vex, worry