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perplexity

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
per·plex·i·ty  (pr-plks-t)
n. pl. per·plex·i·ties
1. The state of being perplexed or puzzled.
2. The state of being intricate or complicated: "the perplexity of life in twentieth-century America" (Daniel J. Boorstin).
3. Something that perplexes.

perplexity [pəˈplɛksɪtɪ]
n pl -ties
1. the state of being perplexed
2. the state of being intricate or complicated
3. something that perplexes
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.perplexity - trouble or confusion resulting from complexity
confusedness, disarray, mental confusion, muddiness, confusion - a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior; "a confusion of impressions"
closed book, enigma, mystery, secret - something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained; "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets"
maze, tangle, snarl - something jumbled or confused; "a tangle of government regulations"
dilemma, quandary - state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options

perplexity
noun
1. puzzlement, confusion, bewilderment, incomprehension, bafflement, mystification, stupefaction There was utter perplexity in both their expressions.
2. (usually plural) complexity, difficulty, mystery, involvement, puzzle, paradox, obscurity, enigma, intricacy, inextricability the perplexities of quantum mechanics
3. difficulty, dilemma, snarl, fix (informal), uphill (S. African), how-do-you-do (informal), can of worms (informal), knotty problem My chief perplexity was how to interpret the words.
Translations
perplexity [pəˈpleksɪtɪ] Nperplejidad f, confusión f
perplexity [pərˈplɛksɪti] nperplexité f
perplexity
n
Verblüffung f; in some perplexityverblüfft, verdutzt, perplex
(= complexity)Komplexität f; the perplexities of somethingdie Komplexität einer Sache (gen)
perplexity [pəˈplɛksɪtɪ] nperplessità
perplexity [pəˈplɛksɪtɪ] nperplessità


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
I understood why the sweet sensitive lips smiled so rarely and so restrainedly now, and why the clear blue eyes looked at me, sometimes with the pity of an angel, sometimes with the innocent perplexity of a child.
That was not particularly well; for he remained in the greatest perplexity, and, as the hours went on, and no kind of explanation offered itself, his perplexity augmented at compound interest.
Yea, this ego, with its contradiction and perplexity, speaketh most uprightly of its being--this creating, willing, evaluing ego, which is the measure and value of things.
 
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