Per-plĕx’1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. PERPLEXED (per-plĕkst’); p. pr. & vb. n. PERPLEXING.] [Lat. perplexus. See infra.]
Sense 1. To make intricate; to involve; to entangle; to make complicated and difficult to be understood or unraveled.
What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view. Locke.
No pleasing intricacies intervene, No artful wildness to perplex the scene. Pope.
Sense 2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to tease with suspense, anxiety, or ambiguity. “Perplexed 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.
Sense 3. To plague; to vex. Glanville.
Synonyms—To embarrass; puzzle; entangle; involve; complicate; bewilder; confuse; distract; harass; vex; plague; tease; molest. See EMBARRASS.