Perplex

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pɚˈplɛks/

Definitions

1. To confuse or cause someone to be uncertain and puzzled about something, or to make a situation more difficult and complicated
2. To cause confusion or difficulty by leaving someone unsure and puzzled about an issue or by complicating a situation more than necessary
3. To create a sense of uncertainty and confusion in someone, often by presenting a situation that is difficult to understand or navigate

Etymology: The original sense of "perplex" was physical rather than mental: Latin "perplexus" meant "entangled" or "intricately woven," as when threads or branches get knotted together. The root is "plectere," "to plait or braid," which also gave English "complex" and "plexus," the network of nerves or vessels in the body. The prefix "per-" means "through," so the image is of something woven all the way through, a tangle with no clear way out. The word passed into English through Old French, where the same Latin adjective had become a term for confusion and bewilderment. The sense of mental puzzlement developed as the knotted-thread image was applied to the mind, so that being perplexed meant feeling tangled up in one's own thoughts. The verb "to perplex" in the sense of confusing someone follows the same path, turning a snarl of string into a snarl of ideas.

Synonyms: confuse, puzzle, bewilder, baffle, mystify

Antonyms: clarify, simplify, enlighten, explain, unravel