perplexing
adjective
per·plex·ing
pər-ˈplek-siŋ 
: difficult to understand : causing confusion
A perplexing feature of insomnia is that people seem to overestimate their sleep loss.—
Rita L. Atkinson et al.
Rita L. Atkinson et al.Chronic acalculous biliary disorders are among the most perplexing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in medicine.—Richard M. Gore
Richard M. GoreA perplexing problem, often encountered by cat owners, is that of a refusal to use the litterbox after using it for years in the past.—Susan L. Mathews
Susan L. Mathews
perplexingly
adverb
a perplexingly complex problem
This was all that I could observe of her in the dim light and under the perplexingly strange circumstances of our meeting.
—Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
Examples of perplexing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every trade deadline is a perplexing adventure.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The Quiz In one of the more perplexing acquisitions this year, early 2000s music sharing platform LimeWire acquired the rights to the infamous Fyre Festival in an auction this week.
—Maggie McGrath, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Antonoff’s omission was especially perplexing because he was nominated for album of the year with two albums last year – Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Sabrina Carpenter’s breakthrough collection, Short N’ Sweet.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2025
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Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The Quiz In one of the more perplexing acquisitions this year, early 2000s music sharing platform LimeWire acquired the rights to the infamous Fyre Festival in an auction this week.
—Maggie McGrath, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Antonoff’s omission was especially perplexing because he was nominated for album of the year with two albums last year – Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Sabrina Carpenter’s breakthrough collection, Short N’ Sweet.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perplexing
Cite this Entry
“Perplexing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perplexing. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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