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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perplex \Per*plex"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Perplexed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Perplexing}.] [L. perplexari. See {Perplex}, adjective]
1. To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated, and difficult to be unraveled or understood; as, to perplex one with doubts.
No artful wildness to perplex the scene. --Pope.
What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view. --Locke.
2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to bewilder; to confuse; to trouble with ambiguity, suspense, or anxiety. ''Perplexd beyond self-explication.'' --Shak.
We are perplexed, but not in despair. --2 Cor. iv. 8.
We can distinguish no general truths, or at least shall be apt to perplex the mind. --Locke.
3. To plague; to vex; to tormen. --Glanvill.
Syn: To entangle; involve; complicate; embarrass; puzzle; bewilder; confuse; distract. See {Embarrass}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perplex \Per*plex"\, adjective [L. perplexus entangled, intricate; per + plectere, plexum, to plait, braid: cf. F. perplexe. See {Per-}, and {Plait}.] Intricate; difficult. [Obs.] --Glanvill.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
perplex
verb
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 Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
181 Moby Thesaurus words for "perplex": addle, addle the wits, ail, amaze, appanage, astonish, astound, awe, awestrike, babble, baffle, balk, ball up, bamboozle, be Greek to, be beyond one, be incredible, be the matter, be too deep, be unbelievable, beat, beat one, becloud, bedaze, bedazzle, befog, befuddle, beset, bewilder, birthright, blast, boggle, bother, bowl down, bowl over, brave, buffalo, bug, cap, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, cloud, complicate, complicate matters, concern, confound, confront, confuse, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, dash, daze, dazzle, defeat, defy, destroy, discombobulate, discomfit, discommode, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, dish, disorganize, disorient, disrupt, distract, distress, disturb, dumbfound, dumbfounder, elude, embarrass, embrangle, ensnarl, entangle, escape one, fill with doubt, flabbergast, floor, flummox, flurry, fluster, flutter, fog, foil, foul up, frustrate, fuddle, fuss, get, gibber, harass, implicate, inconvenience, involve, irk, keep in suspense, knock the chocks, knot, lagniappe, largess, lick, lose one, louse up, maze, mess up, mist, mix up, moider, muck, muck up, muddle, mystify, need explanation, nonplus, not make sense, not penetrate, overwhelm, palm oil, paralyze, pass belief, pass comprehension, perks, perquisite, perturb, petrify, plague, pose, pother, pourboire, prerogative, privilege, put out, put to it, puzzle, raise hell, ramify, rattle, ravel, riddle, ruffle, ruin, sabotage, scotch, screw up, snarl, snarl up, speak in tongues, spike, spoil, stagger, startle, stick, stonewall, strike dead, strike dumb, strike with wonder, stumble, stump, stun, stupefy, stymie, surprise, talk double Dutch, tangle, throw, throw into confusion, thwart, tip, torment, trouble, unsettle, upset, vex, worry
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