perplexing
/pɚˈplɛksɪŋ/adjective, verb
perplexing is spelled P-E-R-P-L-E-X-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, perplexing means “That causes perplexity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in perplexing?
| Letters | 10: P-E-R-P-L-E-X-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perplexing?
Perplexing appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce perplexing?
- US /pɚˈplɛksɪŋ/
Perplexing has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-perplexing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perplexing
- more perplexing comparative
- most perplexing superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perplexing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That causes perplexity.
utterly perplexing
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of perplex
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perplexing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense that causes perplexity:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | perplejizante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.