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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
|
related words: |
bother, confuse, entangle, fluster, obfuscate, obscure, stick, vex, worry |
adverb + (v.)perplex
bit, clearly, deeply, equally, first, genuinely, kind, little, obviously, seemingly, slightly, somewhat, totally, truly, utterly
(v.)perplex
+ adverb
why
(v.)perplex
+ noun
astronomer, discovery, professor, reader, researcher
|
derivations: |
perplexingly (adv.), perplexer (n.) |
The word perplex
contains the following parts:
per-
Latin
prefix
that means through, throughout; very
  Example words:
impermeable, impermissible, imperturbable, impervious, parvenu, perambulate, perceive, perception, percolate, perennial, perfect, perfidy, perfoliate, perforate, perform, perfunctory, perjury, permanent, permeate, permissible, permission, permit, permute, pernicious, perorate, perpetual, perplex, persecute, persevere, persist, persistent, perspective, perspicacious, perspicuous, perspire, persuade, persuasion, persuasive, pertinacious, perturb, peruse, pervade, perverse, pervert, pervious, semipermeable
plic, plex, ply
Latin
root
that means fold, plait
  Example words:
accomplice, applicant, apply, complex, complicate, display, duplex, duplicate, explicable, explicate, implicate, implication, imply, inexplicable, multiplication, multiply1, perplex
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