perplexing

1. 1.

   lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity

   “sent confusing signals to Iraq”

   “perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it”

   “a puzzling statement”

   Synonymsconfusingpuzzling

   Similarunclear

Questions about perplexing

What does perplexing mean?

perplexing means "lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity".

How many syllables are in perplexing?

perplexing has 3 syllables: per-plex-ing. The stress falls on "plex". In IPA it is /pɚˈplɛksɪŋ/.

What is another word for perplexing?

Close synonyms include confusing, puzzling. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is perplexing a common word?

perplexing is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.