perplex

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /pɚˈplɛks/ UK /pəˈplɛks/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to confuse or puzzle thoroughly

The riddle continued to perplex the students.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to confuse or puzzle... confuse baffle puzzle bewilder mystify confound befuddle nonplus

Opposites

clarify enlighten explain illuminate

Word family

Derived forms perplexed perplexing perplexity perplexedly

Related forms complex perplexity

Etymology

From Latin perplexus ('entangled, confused, intricate'), from per- ('thoroughly') + plexus, past participle of plectere ('to plait, twist, weave').

perplexus Latin plectere Latin *plek- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

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# perplex

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** pɚˈplɛks
**IPA (UK):** pəˈplɛks

## Meanings
1. to confuse or puzzle thoroughly

## Examples
- The riddle continued to perplex the students.

## Synonyms
- confuse
- baffle
- puzzle
- bewilder
- mystify
- confound
- befuddle
- nonplus

## Antonyms
- clarify
- enlighten
- explain
- illuminate

## Derived Forms
- perplexed
- perplexing
- perplexity
- perplexedly

## Related Forms
- complex
- perplexity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: perplexus
- Root: plectere
- Root: *plek-

## Etymology
From Latin perplexus ('entangled, confused, intricate'), from per- ('thoroughly') + plexus, past participle of plectere ('to plait, twist, weave').

## AI Etymology
Perplex comes from Latin perplexus ('entangled, confused, intricate'), from per- ('thoroughly') + plexus, past participle of plectere ('to plait, twist, weave'). The etymological trail includes Latin perplexus, Latin plectere, and Proto-Indo-European *plek-. As a verb, perplex means to confuse or puzzle thoroughly. The same family is visible in derived forms such as perplexed, perplexing, perplexity, and perplexedly and related forms such as complex and perplexity. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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