To confuse someone, especially by making something hard to understand. It suggests a tangle of facts or ideas that is difficult to sort out.
From Latin “perplexus” meaning “entangled, complicated,” from “per-” (thoroughly) + “plexus” (twisted, braided). It originally described things literally tangled up.
When you’re perplexed, your mind feels knotted, which matches the word’s roots about twisting and tangling. Clearing up confusion is like gently untying that mental knot strand by strand.
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