perplex

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

• (General American) enPR: pərplĕksʹ, IPA^(key): /pɚˈplɛks/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: pəplĕksʹ, IPA^(key): /pəˈplɛks/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛks

perplex (third-person singular simple present perplexes, present participle perplexing, simple past and past participle perplexed)

1. (transitive) To cause to feel baffled; to puzzle.
2. (transitive) To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated.
   • a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke:  Malebranche’s Opinion of Seeing All Things in God. III. A Discourse of Miracles. IV. Part of a Fourth Letter for Toleration. V. Memoirs Relating to the Life of Anthony First Earl of Shaftesbury. To which is Added, VI. His New Method of a Common-place-book, Written Originally in French, and Now Translated into English.">…], London: A and J Churchill, , published 1706, →OCLC:

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

   • 1712 (date written), Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. , London: J Tonson, , published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:

     The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate,
     Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors;
     Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain,
     Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search;

3. (transitive, obsolete) To plague; to vex; to torment.
   • 1726, George Granville, Chloe:

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

   • 1850, , “Canto IX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC:

     All night no ruder air perplex
     ⁠Thy sliding keel, till Phosphor, bright
     ⁠As our pure love, thro’ early light
     Shall glimmer on the dewy decks.

• See also Thesaurus:confuse

perplex (comparative more perplex, superlative most perplex)

1. (now rare) intricate; difficult
   • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; , London: E. C for Henry Eversden , →OCLC:

     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.

   • 2007, Sean Brayton, “MTV's Jackass: Transgression, Abjection and the Economy of White Masculinity”, in Journal of Gender Studies, volume 16, page 58:

     Finally, I explore possible audience interpretations of the film and offer some alternative reading strategies of these highly perplex sketches.

• perplex number

perplex (plural perplexes)

1. (obsolete) A difficulty.

• “perplex”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E Smith, editors (1911), “perplex”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “perplex”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

From Middle Dutch perplex, borrowed from Middle French perplex.

• IPA^(key): /pɛrˈplɛks/, /pərˈplɛks/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: per‧plex
• Rhymes: -ɛks

perplex (comparative perplexer, superlative meest perplex or perplext)

1. perplexed, befuddled

   Synonym: stomverbaasd

Borrowed from French perplexe, from Latin perplexus.

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

• Audio:

  (file)

perplex (strong nominative masculine singular perplexer, comparative perplexer, superlative am perplexesten)

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

   Synonyms: verdutzt, verblüfft, verwirrt

• Perplexität

• “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.

Borrowed from French perplexe, from Latin perplex.

perplex m or n (feminine singular perplexă, masculine plural perplecși, feminine and neuter plural perplexe)

1. perplexed

perplex (comparative mer perplex, superlative mest perplex)

1. perplexed

• perplex in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• perplex in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• perplex in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)