Synonyms for perplexity
All synonyms
Noun
1. Confusion — the state or quality of being perplexed
confusion, bewilderment, distress, quandary, puzzlement, befuddlement, anxiety, mystification, difficulty, embarrassment, trouble, dilemma, predicament, puzzle, bemusement, maze, disturbance, obscurity, intricacy, entanglement, plight, bother
Definitions
- n. 1
The state or quality of being perplexed.
Forms
- Plural
- perplexities → confusions, bewilderments, distresses, quandaries…
Choose the right word
Perplexity often involves anxiety, but may be quite free from it.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- confusion He disappeared, taking advantage of the confusion.
- bewilderment Boldi looked in Martha's direction in bewilderment.
- quandary Tom was in a quandary about who to vote for in the election.
- puzzlement His face betrayed his sheer puzzlement.
- doubt There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt.
- complexity The world is a place of seemingly infinite complexity.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| perplexity | rising | |
| confusion | steady | |
| bewilderment | rising | |
| quandary | rising | |
| puzzlement | rising | |
| doubt | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- maze1
- 5 letters
- doubt1
- 6 letters
- bother2, puzzle2, plight1
- 7 letters
- trouble2, anxiety4, dilemma3
- 8 letters
- distress2, quandary3
- 9 letters
- confusion3, obscurity4, intricacy4
- 10 letters
- difficulty4, complexity4, puzzlement3, involution, bemusement3, perplexion
- 11 letters
- disturbance3, predicament4, crabbedness
- 12 letters
- complication4, entanglement4, bewilderment4, befuddlement
- 13 letters
- embarrassment4, mystification, intricateness, perplexedness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (bother2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- perplexité
- Italiano
- perplessità
- Español
- perplejidad
- Deutsch
- Ratlosigkeit