perplex

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: pərplĕksʹ, IPA^(key): /pɚˈplɛks/
• enPR: pəplĕksʹ, IPA^(key): /pəˈplɛks/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛks

Verb

1. (transitive) To cause to feel baffled; to puzzle.
2. (transitive) To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated.
   • (Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To plague; to vex; to torment.
   • (Can we date this quote by Granville and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Chloe's the wonder of her sex, 'Tis well her heart is tender, How might such killing eyes perplex, With virtue to defend her.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:confuse

Related terms

• perplexable
• perplexation
• perplexed
• perplexedness
• perplexing
• perplexity
• perplexment

Translations

To cause to feel baffled

• Czech: zaskočit (cs)
• Finnish: hämmentää (fi), saattaa ymmälle, askarruttaa
• German: verwirren (de)
• Greek: μπερδεύω (el) (berdévo), σαστίζω (el) (sastízo)
• Mandarin: 使困惑
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakahēhē
• Portuguese: pasmar (pt), desconcertar (pt), vexar (pt)
• Russian: озадачивать (ru) (ozadačivatʹ), запутывать (ru) (zaputyvatʹ)
• Spanish: confundir (es), desconcertar (es)
• Swedish: förvirra (sv)

Adjective

perplex (comparative more perplex, superlative most perplex)

1. (obsolete) intricate; difficult
   • (Can we date this quote by Glanvill and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     How the soul directs the spirits for the motion of the body, according to the several animal exigents, is perplex in the theory.

Noun

perplex (plural perplexes)

1. (obsolete) A difficulty.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “perplex”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Further reading

• “perplex”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “perplex”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “perplex”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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German

Etymology

From French perplexe, from Latin perplexus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁˈplɛks/
• Hyphenation: per‧plex

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

perplex (comparative perplexer, superlative am perplexesten)

1. (colloquial, rarely attributive) confused, perplexed, puzzled

   Synonyms: verdutzt, verblüfft, verwirrt

Related terms

• Perplexität

Further reading

• “perplex” in Duden online
• “perplex” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “perplex” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.