Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb perplex

2 senses of perplex

Sense 1
perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, beat, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound -- (be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me")
       => confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate -- (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher")

Sense 2
complicate, perplex -- (make more complicated; "There was a new development that complicated the matter")
       => change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")