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.

Chronic acalculous biliary disorders are among the most perplexing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in medicine.

—Richard M. Gore

A 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

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

Examples of perplexing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This perplexing Pearsall predicament particularly matters because the Niners are walking into a buzzsaw. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026

In a show full of people doing dumb stuff, Anna is doing dumb stuff for ambiguous reasons, though nearly every aspect of her character is rendered either perplexing or illogical in the finale. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026

Types of bedsheets Perhaps the most perplexing part of purchasing bed linens is the wide variety of fibers available. —Mary Grace Granados special Contributor, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026

Why, despite centuries of attention, does health care coverage remain one of – if not the most – perplexing and challenging domestic issues that Congress faces? —Sorelle Wyckoff Gaynor, The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for perplexing

• annexing
• complexing
• flexing
• sexing
• vexing
• multiplexing