Perplex
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A difficulty. obsolete
- 1 To cause to feel baffled; to puzzle. transitive
- 2 make more complicated wordnet
- 3 To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated. transitive
"What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view."
- 4 be a mystery or bewildering to wordnet
- 5 To plague; to vex; to torment. obsolete, transitive
"Chloe's the wonder of her sex, 'Tis well her heart is tender, How might such killing eyes perplex, With virtue to defend her."
- 1 intricate; difficult archaic
"How the soul directs the spirits for the motion of the body, according to the several animal exigents, is as perplex in the Theory, as either of the former."
Example
More examples""Thus while they waver and, perplex with doubt, / urge diverse counsels, and in parts divide, / lo, from the citadel, foremost of a rout, / breathless Laocoon runs, and from afar cries out: / 'Ah! wretched townsmen! do ye think the foe / gone, or that guileless are their gifts? O blind / with madness! Thus Ulysses do ye know?'""
Etymology
From Old French, from Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).
Related phrases
More for "perplex"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.