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- pronunciation:
- p
 r
pleks
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb), Grammatical Patterns, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
perplexes, perplexing, perplexed |
| definition 1: |
to puzzle, confuse, or cause uncertainty in the mind of (a person).
The complicated instructions were no help at all; in fact, they only perplexed us.His current attitude perplexed her in light of the things he'd said earlier.It perplexed me that she would say such a strange thing, especially to my mother.[it + verb + smby + that + clause
]
It always perplexes him when he suddenly forgets what he was going to do or say.[it + verb + smby + when + clause
]
- synonyms:
- bewilder, confuse, puzzle
- similar words:
- baffle, beat, befuddle, boggle, buffalo, confound, discombobulate, dumbfound, fog, frustrate, mislead, mystify, nonplus, pose, rattle, stump
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| definition 2: |
to complicate or confuse (a subject or situation).
The division of the rebels into factions only perplexed the situation in the war-torn nation.- synonyms:
- complicate, confuse, muddle
- similar words:
- foul up, involve, jumble, mess up, muddy
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| related words: |
bother, confuse, entangle, fluster, obfuscate, obscure, stick, vex, worry |
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| derivations: |
perplexingly (adv.), perplexer (n.) |
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