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)