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perplex
verb
1 perplex
Be a mystery or bewildering to.
synonyms: amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex ... show more.
Roget 519:
be unintelligible
etc.
adj.;
require explanation
etc.
522;
have a doubtful meaning,
pass comprehension.
render unintelligible
etc.
adj.;
conceal
etc.
528;
darken
etc.
421;
confuse
etc.
(derange)
61;
perplex
etc.
(bewilder)
475.
not understand
etc.
518;
lose,
lose the clue;
miss;
not know what to make of,
be able to make nothing of,
give it up;
not be able to account for,
not be able to make either head or tail of;
be at sea
etc.
(uncertain)
475;
wonder
etc.
870;
see through a glass darkly
etc.
(ignorance)
491.
not understand one another;
play at cross purposes
etc.
(misinterpret)
523.
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Roget 704:
be difficult
etc.
adj.;
run one hard,
go against the grain,
try one's patience,
put one out;
put to one's shifts,
put to one's wit's end;
go hard with one,
try one;
pose,
perplex
etc.
(uncertain)
475;
bother,
nonplus,
gravel,
bring to a deadlock;
be impossible
etc.
471;
be in the way of
etc.
(hinder)
706.
meet with difficulties;
labor under difficulties;
get into difficulties;
plunge into difficulties;
struggle with difficulties;
contend with difficulties;
grapple with difficulties;
labor under a disadvantage;
be in difficulty
etc.
adj..
fish in troubled waters,
buffet the waves,
swim against the stream,
scud under bare poles.
Have much ado with,
have a hard time of it;
come to the push,
come to the pinch;
bear the brunt.
grope in the dark,
lose one's way,
weave a tangled web,
walk among eggs.
get into a scrape
etc.
n.;
bring a hornet's nest about one's ears;
be put to one's shifts;
flounder,
boggle,
struggle;
not know which way to turn
etc.
(uncertain)
475;
perdre son Latin [Fr.];
stick at,
stick in the mud,
stick fast;
come to a stand,
come to a standstill,
come to a deadlock;
hold the wolf by the ears,
hold the tiger by the tail.
render difficult
etc.
adj.;
enmesh,
encumber,
embarrass,
ravel,
entangle;
put a spoke in the wheel
etc.
(hinder)
706;
lead a pretty dance.
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Roget 475:
be uncertain
etc.
adj.;
wonder whether.
lose the clue,
lose the clew,
scent;
miss one's way.
not know what to make of
etc.
(unintelligibility)
519,
not know which way to turn,
not know whether one stands on one s head or one's not know whether one stands on one s head or one's heels;
float in a sea of doubt,
hesitate,
flounder;
lose oneself,
lose one's head;
muddle one's brains.
render uncertain
etc.
adj.;
put out,
pose,
puzzle,
perplex,
embarrass;
confuse,
confound;
bewilder,
bother,
molder,
addle the wits,
throw off the scent,
ambiguas in vulgus spargere voces [Lat.];
keep in suspense.
doubt
etc.
(disbelieve)
485;
hang in the balance,
tremble in the balance;
depend.
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Roget 458:
be inattentive
etc.
adj.;
overlook,
disregard;
pass by
etc.
(neglect)
460;
not observe
etc.
457;
think little of.
close one's eyes to,
shut one's eyes to;
pay no attention to;
dismiss from one's thoughts,
discard from one's thoughts,
discharge from one's thoughts,
dismiss from one's mind,
discard from one's mind,
discharge from one's mind;
drop the subject,
think no more of;
set aside,
turn aside,
put aside;
turn away from,
turn one's attention from,
turn a deaf ear to,
turn one's back upon.
abstract oneself,
dream,
indulge in reverie.
escape notice,
escape attention;
come in at one ear and go out at the other;
forget
etc.
(have no remembrance)
506.
call off the attention,
draw off the attention,
call away the attention,
divert the attention,
distract the mind;
put out of one's head;
disconcert,
discompose;
put out,
confuse,
perplex,
bewilder,
moider†,
fluster,
muddle,
dazzle;
throw a sop to Cerberus.
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Roget 830:
cause pain,
occasion pain,
give pain,
bring pain,
induce pain,
produce pain,
create pain,
inflict pain
etc.
828;
pain,
hurt,
wound.
pinch,
prick,
gripe
etc.
(physical pain)
378;
pierce,
lancinate†,
cut.
hurt the feelings,
wound the feelings,
grate upon the feelings,
grate upon the nerves,
jar upon the feelings;
wring the heart,
pierce the heart,
lacerate the heart,
break the heart,
rend the heart;
make the heart bleed;
tear the heart strings,
rend the heart strings;
draw tears from the eyes.
sadden;
make unhappy
etc.
828;
plunge into sorrow,
grieve,
fash†,
afflict,
distress;
cut up,
cut to the heart.
displease,
annoy,
incommode,
discompose,
trouble,
disquiet;
faze,
feaze†,
feeze [U.S.];
disturb,
cross,
perplex,
molest,
tease,
tire,
irk,
vex,
mortify,
wherret†,
worry,
plague,
bother,
pester,
bore,
pother,
harass,
harry,
badger,
heckle,
bait,
beset,
infest,
persecute,
importune.
wring,
harrow,
torment,
torture;
bullyrag;
put to the rack,
put to the question;
break on the wheel,
rack,
scarify;
cruciate†,
crucify;
convulse,
agonize;
barb the dart;
plant a dagger in the breast,
plant a thorn in one's side.
irritate,
provoke,
sting,
nettle,
try the patience,
pique,
fret,
rile,
tweak the nose,
chafe,
gall;
sting to the quick,
wound to the quick,
cut to the quick;
aggrieve,
affront,
enchafe†,
enrage,
ruffle,
sour the temper;
give offense
etc.
(resentment)
900.
maltreat,
bite,
snap at,
assail;
smite
etc.
(punish)
972.
sicken,
disgust,
revolt,
nauseate,
disenchant,
repel,
offend,
shock,
stink in the nostrils;
go against the stomach,
turn the stomach;
make one sick,
set the teeth on edge,
go against the grain,
grate on the ear;
stick in one's throat,
stick in one's gizzard;
rankle,
gnaw,
corrode,
horrify,
appal†,
appall,
freeze the blood;
make the flesh creep,
make the hair stand on end;
make the blood curdle,
make the blood run cold;
make one shudder.
haunt the memory;
weigh on the heart,
prey on the heart,
weigh on the mind,
prey on the mind,
weigh on the spirits,
prey on the spirits;
bring one's gray hairs with sorrow to the bring one's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave;
add a nail to one's coffin.
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Dutch: verbluffen, verlegenheid, verstomd doen staan
2 perplex
Make more complicated.
synonym: complicate.
Roget 61:
derange;
disarrange,
misarrange†;
displace,
misplace;
mislay,
discompose,
disorder;
deorganize†,
discombobulate,
disorganize;
embroil,
unsettle,
disturb,
confuse,
trouble,
perturb,
jumble,
tumble;
shuffle,
randomize;
huddle,
muddle,
toss,
hustle,
fumble,
riot;
bring into disorder,
put into disorder,
throw into disorder
etc.
59;
muss [U.S.];
break the ranks,
disconcert,
convulse;
break in upon.
unhinge,
dislocate,
put out of joint,
throw out of gear.
turn topsy-turvy
etc.
(invert)
218;
bedevil;
complicate,
involve,
perplex,
confound;
imbrangle†,
embrangle†,
tangle,
entangle,
ravel,
tousle,
towzle†,
dishevel,
ruffle;
rumple
etc.
(fold)
258.
litter,
scatter;
mix
etc.
41.
rearrange
etc.
148.
... show more
Dutch: compliceren
Moby thesaurus: 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 ... show more.
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