Word.ws English Dictionary

perplexed

Syllables: per·plexedUK/pəˈplɛkst//pɚˈplɛkst/

perplexed adjective: confused or puzzled. Also the simple past and past participle of perplex.

Adjective

perplexed (comparative more perplexed, superlative most perplexed)

  1. Confused or puzzled.
    • The scientists were perplexed by the new discovery.
    • She was perplexed. 'Plege'illegience is plege'illegience!'"1963, James Clavell, The Children's Story, unnumbered page
  2. Bewildered.
  3. (obsolete) Entangled; labyrinthine.
    • "[…] But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses. […]" "Though all your actions are noble, […] is it fitting that I should accompany you alone into these perplexed retreats? Should we be found together, what would a censorious world think of my conduct?"1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto

Also used as

perplexed is also the simple past and past participle of perplex.

perplexed meaning in Sanskrit

perplexed in Sanskrit

confused or puzzled
मुग्ध mugdha

Examples of perplexed in a sentence

  • Others are standing at the cross-roads of duty, and are perplexed with interesting questions of casuistry.
  • “Marian,” Kelly said, perplexed, “it's a prop gun.” She was holding the weapon Carla had dropped to the floor.
  • Well, he would look perplexed - he hasn't yet noticed the light of the Underground station sign behind him.

All 15 example sentences with perplexed

Forms of perplexed

comparativemore perplexed
superlativemost perplexed

Words formed from perplexed

Words that rhyme with perplexed

3 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about perplexed

What does perplexed mean?
Perplexed means confused or puzzled.
What is perplexed in Sanskrit?
Perplexed in Sanskrit is मुग्ध (mugdha). See Perplexed meaning in Sanskrit.
What part of speech is perplexed?
Perplexed is an adjective.
How do you pronounce perplexed?
Perplexed is pronounced /pɚˈplɛkst/ (US).

Words near perplexed in the dictionary

  1. perplex number
  2. perplex numbers
  3. perplexable
  4. perplexation
  5. perplexations
  6. perplexed
  7. perplexedly
  8. perplexedness
  9. perplexer
  10. perplexers
  11. perplexes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: perplexed (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-perplexed.ogg.

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