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The state of being puzzled; perplexity. Miss Mitford.

One who, or that which, puzzles or perplexes. Hebrew, the general puzzler of old heads. Brome.

A state of difficulty or perplexity; doubt; uncertainty.

To fall into perplexity and confusion. [Obs.] Till, by their own perplexities involved, They ravel more, still less resolved. Milton.

Recurrence in difficulty, perplexity, need, or the like; access or application for aid; resort. Thus died this great peer, in a time of great recourse unto him and dependence upon him. Sir H. Wotton. Our last recourse is therefore to our art. Dryden.

To come to mind; to be suggested; to occur. A thought rose in me, which often perplexes men of contemplative natures. Spectator.

isturb, as the temper; to ruffle the temper of; to rouse the passion of resentment in; to perplex. That his friends should believe it, was what roiled him [Judge Jeffreys] exceedingly. R. North.

A disagreable and embrassing predicament, as it were, a painful rubbing or scraping; a perplexity; a difficulty. The too eager pursuit of this his old enemy through thick and thin has led him into many of these scrapes. Bp. Warburton.

To perplex with scruples; to regard with scruples. [Obs.] Bp. Montagu.

formed; having a regular shape; comely; symmetrical. T. Warton. Waste sandy valleys, once perplexed with thorn, The spiry fir and shapely box adorn. Pope. Where the shapely column stood. Couper.

To catch with a snare; to insnare; to entangle; hence, to bring into unexpected evil, perplexity, or danger. Lest that too heavenly form . . . snare them. Milton. The mournful crocodile With sorrow snares relenting passengers. Shak.

Bewilderment; perplexity. [R.] Shak. Stomach staggers (Far.), distention of the stomach with food or gas, resulting in indigestion, frequently in death.

A state of perplexity or embarrassment; as, to be at a stand what to do. L'Estrange.

Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits. For I am in a strait betwixt two. Phil. i. 23. Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever. South. Ulysses made use of…

Fig.: To mislead; to confound; to perplex; to cause to err or to fall. False and dazzling fires to stumble men. Milton. One thing more stumbles me in the very foundation of this hypothesis. Locke.

Any cause of stumbling, perplexity, or error. We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. 1 Cor. i. 23.

that, that is committed to them, and to report back again faithfully the success. Bacon. Perplexed and troubled at his bad success The tempter stood. Milton.

ng that; about that. [R.] What will ye dine I will go thereabout. Chaucer. They were much perplexed thereabout. Luke xxiv. 4.

Like a thorn or thorns; hence, figuratively, troublesome; vexatious; harassing; perplexing. "The thorny point of bare distress." Shak. The steep and thorny way to heaven. Shak. Thorny rest-harrow (Bot.), rest-harrow. -- Thorny trefoil, a prickly plant of the genus Fagonia (F. Cretica, etc.).

Hence, consisting of a great number indefinitely. "Perplexed with a thousand cares." Shak.