adj
Meaning 1
intricate; difficult
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
perplex
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American: pərplĕksʹ
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General-American: /pɚˈplɛks/
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Received-Pronunciation: pəplĕksʹ
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Received-Pronunciation: /pəˈplɛks/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛks
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CMU ARPABET: P ER0 P L EH1 K S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A difficulty.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To cause to feel baffled; to puzzle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To plague; to vex; to torment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
make more complicated
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- There was a new development that complicated the matter
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: complicate
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: change, alter, modify
Narrower terms: complexify, snarl, snarl up, embrangle
verb
Meaning 7
be a mystery or bewildering to
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- This beats me!
- Got me--I don't know the answer!
- a vexing problem
- This question really stuck me
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate
Narrower terms: stump, mix up, riddle, elude, escape
History
Etymology
From Old French, from Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: обърквам (obǎrkvam) — to cause to feel baffled
- Bulgarian: смущавам (smuštavam) — to cause to feel baffled
- Chinese Mandarin: 使困惑 — to cause to feel baffled
- Czech: zaskočit — to cause to feel baffled
- Esperanto: perpleksigi — to cause to feel baffled
- Finnish: hämmentää — to cause to feel baffled
- Finnish: saattaa ymmälle — to cause to feel baffled
- Finnish: askarruttaa — to cause to feel baffled
- French: déconcerter — to cause to feel baffled
- French: troubler — to cause to feel baffled
- French: dérouter — to cause to feel baffled
- German: verwirren — to cause to feel baffled
- Greek: μπερδεύω (berdévo) — to cause to feel baffled
- Greek: σαστίζω (sastízo) — to cause to feel baffled
- Italian: perplimere — to cause to feel baffled
- Italian: perplettere — to cause to feel baffled
- Italian: sconcertare — to cause to feel baffled
- Italian: lasciare di stucco — to cause to feel baffled
- Italian: allibire — to cause to feel baffled
- Māori: whakahēhē — to cause to feel baffled
- Occitan: desconcertar — to cause to feel baffled
- Occitan: desmemoriar — to cause to feel baffled
- Portuguese: pasmar — to cause to feel baffled
- Portuguese: desconcertar — to cause to feel baffled
- Portuguese: vexar — to cause to feel baffled
- Russian: озадачивать (ozadačivatʹ) — to cause to feel baffled
- Russian: запутывать (zaputyvatʹ) — to cause to feel baffled
- Spanish: perplejizar — to cause to feel baffled
- Spanish: dejar perplejo — to cause to feel baffled
- Swedish: förvirra — to cause to feel baffled