perplexed

adjective

per·​plexed pər-ˈplekst How to pronounce perplexed (audio)
1
: filled with uncertainty : puzzled
2
: full of difficulty

Examples of perplexed in a Sentence

He gave her a perplexed look. The explanation left me thoroughly perplexed.
Recent Examples on the Web Waybill stood amid a swirling gale of groovy hard rock created by the other four men onstage and uttered the quizzical, comical lines with a kind of perplexed deadpan delivery. Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 This paradox of horror's appeal—that people want to have disturbing and upsetting experiences—has long perplexed scholars. Athena Aktipis, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2023 Mama Ru was similarly perplexed, as Xunami — the drag daughter of the great Kandy Muse — was sadly sent packing for her performance as the gold-toothed beauty. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2024 Ackman left the meetings disheartened and perplexed. Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024 But the relative severity of Microsoft's sample enforcement actions has already drawn some perplexed responses from gamers. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 16 Aug. 2023 For decades, her mysterious disappearance has perplexed explorers, who have spent millions of dollars trying to find her missing Lockheed 10-E Electra plane. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024 The actor’s real-estate firm, Saunders & Associates, posted a video on January 16 featuring him regaling potential sellers (and the rest of us, watching with perplexed and slightly horrified faces) of the story of his time out East. Vulture, 17 Jan. 2024 Instead of going up to accept the award, actor Gosling who played Ken and sang the song that won flashed a jovially perplexed look while his fellow award-winners took the stage. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perplexed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of perplexed was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near perplexed

Cite this Entry

“Perplexed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perplexed. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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