Perplexity

/pərˈplɛksɪti/

Meaning & Definition

noun

the state of being perplexed; confusion or uncertainty.

The complexity of the problem led to a profound sense of perplexity among the team members.

a situation that is confusing or difficult to understand.

Her sudden change of plans added to his perplexity about the situation.

a measure of how predictable or understandable a dataset or probability distribution is.

The perplexity of the language model indicates how well it can predict the next word in a sentence.

From Latin perplexitas, from perplectere, meaning 'to entangle'.

in a state of perplexity

experiencing confusion or uncertainty.

perplexity of choices

the complicated nature of selecting among various options.

to add to one's perplexity

to further complicate a confusing situation.

perplex

to confuse or bewilder.

confound

to cause surprise or confusion in someone.

bewilder

to cause someone to become perplexed and confused.

brain freeze

He had a brain freeze trying to understand that math problem.

mind-boggle

The plot twist was such a mind-boggle that it left everyone speechless.