perplexing

American

[per-plek-sing] / pərˈplɛk sɪŋ /

adjective

puzzling or bewildering; hard to understand, figure out, or solve.

One of the most perplexing aspects of owning a cat is trying to decipher its various body movements and meows.
The history of the universe is one of the most perplexing subjects of all time.

Other Word Forms

perplexingly adverb
unperplexing adjective

Etymology

Origin of perplexing

perplex ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

The adjective perplexing describes something it is confusing. Before you're fluent in Arabic, you may find the unfamiliar alphabet to be totally perplexing. The Latin root of perplexing is perplexus, which means involved, confused, or intricate. This root is also found in the verb perplex, or confuse. Problems are often described as perplexing, especially when several attempts to solve them are unsuccessful. You may have a perplexing decision to make, like where to go to college or whether to stay friends with a fun person who has disappointed you in some way.

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Vocabulary lists containing perplexing

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

All which makes his disappearance on 3 April 2017 so perplexing.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

However, it has been “a little perplexing why stocks have sold off the way they have” for the most recent round of IPOs, he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Now, facing irrelevance and the perplexing 1960s, she falters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

It’s both perplexing and extremely telling that “Hamnet” doesn’t let the viewer see the world through Hamnet’s eyes until the boy is near death, cast into a world between ours and the next one.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

A string of especially perplexing breakdowns had bedeviled the lab that year, at a time when Lawrence was struggling to fill a mounting stack of orders for radioisotopes from all over the country.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023