perplex Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb be a mystery or bewildering to
mystify; bewilder; get; beat; puzzle; pose; amaze; vex; baffle; flummox; stick; stupefy; gravel; nonplus; dumbfound.
- This beats me!
- Got me--I don't know the answer!
- a vexing problem
- This question really stuck me
verb make more complicated
complicate.
- There was a new development that complicated the matter

L. perplexari. See Perplex, a.

imperfect & past participle Perplexed ; present participle & verbal noun Perplexing

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.
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.
To plague; to vex; to tormen. Glanvill. Syn. -- To entangle; involve; complicate; embarrass; puzzle; bewilder; confuse; distract. See Embarrass.

L. perplexus entangled, intricate; per + plectere, plexum, to plait, braid: cf. F. perplexe. See Per-, and Plait.