Synonyms of perplexed

perplexed 1 of 2

adjective

pər-ˈplekst 

as in baffled

faced with difficulty or uncertainty about what to say, think, or do

the convoluted instructions for calibrating a high-definition television will leave many consumers utterly perplexed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• baffled
• bewildered
• embarrassed
• nonplussed
• confused
• flustered
• at a loss
• put to it
• confounded
• hard put
• hard-pressed
• disconcerted
• fazed
• put out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• undaunted
• composed
• unfazed
• untroubled

perplexed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of perplex

1

as in complicated

to make complex or difficult

let's not perplex the issue further with irrelevant concerns

Synonyms & Similar Words

• complicated
• embarrassed
• confused
• sophisticated
• intensified
• complexed
• entangled
• complexified
• elaborated
• expanded
• developed
• confounded
• muddled
• snarled
• mixed (up)
• magnified
• tangled
• messed (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simplified
• streamlined
• cut
• shortened
• abbreviated
• facilitated
• eased
• straightened (out)
• oversimplified
• unraveled
• disentangled
• untangled

2

as in puzzled

to throw into a state of mental uncertainty

the question perplexed me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• puzzled
• baffled
• confused
• bewildered
• mystified
• befuddled
• embarrassed
• stunned
• flummoxed
• vexed
• bemused
• confounded
• disoriented
• flustered
• disturbed
• discombobulated
• posed
• bothered
• rattled
• muddled
• bamboozled
• upset
• fuddled
• mazed
• muddied
• foxed
• addled
• buffaloed
• befogged
• got
• unsettled
• graveled
• stumped
• nonplussed
• beat
• disconcerted
• stuck
• mortified
• dismayed
• discomfited
• distressed
• agitated
• blew one's mind
• perturbed
• disquieted
• went to one's head
• abashed
• chagrined
• weirded out
• fazed
• discomforted
• deceived
• misled
• discountenanced
• discomposed
• unhinged
• deluded
• misguided
• fooled
• duped
• beguiled
• tricked
• strung along
• hoodwinked
• humbugged
• gulled
• snowed
• cozened
• hoaxed
• took in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• satisfied
• assured
• informed
• reassured
• enlightened

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of perplexed

Adjective

Those late audits have caused ongoing comments by engaged residents who are perplexed that year after year the town’s government is not able to provide the same audit the state’s other 168 municipalities complete and submit to the public and the state’s budget office. —Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026

Pittman seemed perplexed as to what caused the seemingly uninspired performance. —Erick Taylor, Arkansas Online, 31 Dec. 2025

Verb

All voiceover in the film is detached from the images, from a mixture of unidentified community folk who are content to speak anonymously, and neighboring outsiders perplexed by these out-of-time pacifists. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025

His dedication perplexed many people around him. —Sofie Buckminster, semafor.com, 16 Nov. 2025