perplexity

English

Etymology

From Middle English perplexite, borrowed from Middle French perplexité or post-classical Latin perplexitās, from perplexus (“entangled”). By surface analysis, perplex +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pəˈplɛksɪti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pəɹˈplɛksəti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

perplexity (countable and uncountable, plural perplexities)

1. The state or quality of being perplexed.

   Synonyms: puzzlement, bewilderment, confusion

2. Something that perplexes.
   • 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 149:

     The Emperor, who was by then a focus of unresolvable perplexities, stood providing a strongly contrary appearance.

3. (information theory) A measure of how well a probability distribution or model predicts a sample.

Translations

state or quality of being perplexed

Bulgarian: обърканост (bg) f (obǎrkanost), смущение (bg) n (smuštenie) Chinese: Mandarin: 困惑 (zh) (kùnhuò), 茫然 (zh) (mángrán), 迷惘 (zh) (míwǎng) Dutch: verwardheid (nl), verwarring (nl), verbijstering (nl) Finnish: hämmennys (fi), hämmentyneisyys French: perplexité (fr) Galician: perplexidade (gl) f German: Perplexität (de) f Greek: σύγχυση (el) f (sýnchysi) Hebrew: מבוכה (he) f (mevukhá) Irish: aincheas m Italian: perplessità (it) Japanese: 困惑 (ja) (こんわく, konwaku), 当惑 (ja) (とうわく, tōwaku) Kazakh: абыржушылық (abyrjuşylyq) Latin: perplexitās f Maori: rapeka, mangangatanga, raumaharatanga Persian: سرگشتگی (fa) (sargaštegi) Polish: ambaras (pl) m Romanian: perplexitate (ro) f Russian: расте́рянность (ru) f (rastérjannostʹ), замеша́тельство (ru) n (zamešátelʹstvo) Sanskrit: लोभ (sa) m (lobha) Spanish: perplejidad (es) f Turkish: şaşkınlık (tr), kararsızlık (tr), çekimserlik (tr) Uyghur: زالالەت (zalalet)