1
Core action
Puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
Example
The contradictory dates perplexed historians.
perplex
/pəˈpleks/ · pur-PLEKSverb
Puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
Use perplex to express this relationship precisely: puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
What perplex Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common construction
Use this expression in its normal grammatical frame so the relationship between the surrounding ideas remains explicit.
Example
The pattern continued to perplex researchers.
3
Reasoning effect
It tells the reader how to interpret the timing, scope, evidence, contrast, condition, or consequence in the statement.
Example
A clear diagram resolved what had perplexed readers.
Use perplex Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The contradictory dates perplexed historians.
The pattern continued to perplex researchers.
A clear diagram resolved what had perplexed readers.
Precision Matters
Perplex overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
perplex
vs.Means puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
elucidate
Means make an idea, process, or problem clear by explaining it carefully.
perplex
vs.Means puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
ascertain
Means find out or establish a fact with certainty through investigation, observation, or evidence.
perplex
vs.Means puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
interpret
Means explain, understand, or assign meaning or significance to information, language, evidence, or events.
perplex
vs.Means puzzle or confuse someone, especially through complexity or uncertainty.
bewilder
Means confuse or puzzle someone completely, making understanding or decision difficult.
Test perplex in Context
The unusual evidence puzzles and confuses them.
1
The object appears in no other known site, a fact that continues to ___ archaeologists.