From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
perplex
v 1: be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I
don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This
question really stuck me" [syn: vex, stick, get,
puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose,
bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel,
amaze, dumbfound]
2: make more complicated; "There was a new development that
complicated the matter" [syn: complicate] [ant:
simplify]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Perplex \Per*plex"\, a. [L. perplexus entangled, intricate; per
+ plectere, plexum, to plait, braid: cf. F. perplexe. See
Per-, and Plait.]
Intricate; difficult. [Obs.] --Glanvill.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Perplex \Per*plex"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perplexed; p. pr. &
vb. n. Perplexing.] [L. perplexari. See Perplex, a.]
1. To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated,
and difficult to be unraveled or understood; as, to
perplex one with doubts.
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No artful wildness to perplex the scene. --Pope.
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What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard
for our weak parts, will lie open to the
understanding in a fair view. --Locke.
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2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to bewilder; to
confuse; to trouble with ambiguity, suspense, or anxiety.
"Perplexd beyond self-explication." --Shak.
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We are perplexed, but not in despair. --2 Cor. iv.
8.
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We can distinguish no general truths, or at least
shall be apt to perplex the mind. --Locke.
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3. To plague; to vex; to torment. --Glanvill.
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Syn: To entangle; involve; complicate; embarrass; puzzle;
bewilder; confuse; distract. See Embarrass.
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